For a moment, it seemed almost anticlimactic.
After 3 hours of sometimes teary speeches, the vote on same-sex marriage was taken in the Minnesota House. Immediately, it was clear, there were far more green lights (supporting same sex marriage) than red (opposing).
The tote board was closed. The tally showed 75 votes supporting same-sex marriage, 59 opposed.
There was no applause in the chamber, but DFLers did line up to hug Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, who had pushed the bill.
Then, this moment of almost-bizarre silence was broken by a roar from outside the chamber. The large crowd of supporters were cheering and then chanting, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Those chants could be heard inside, where members were pretending to go back to business as usual.
House Speaker Paul Thissen brought up the next order of business for the House to take care of. It had something to do with a report from the rules committee.
But no one really was paying attention. History had been made.
In the end, only two DFLers, Reps. Mary Sawatzky of Willmar and Patti Fritz of Faribault, voted against it.
Meantime, four Republicans voted to support same-sex marriage: Reps. Pat Garofalo, Farmington; Jenifer Loon, Eden Prairie; Andrea Kieffer, Woodbury; and David FitzSimmons, Albertville.
Loon, who had been coy about the issue throughout the session, said she didn’t reach a final decision until coming to the floor on Thursday.
“It was gradual,’’ she said of the process that led her to push the green button. “I sat there listening and thinking and realizing at some point you have to make a decision.’’
That this would be a vote with a large cushion for supporters was a surprise.
Throughout the session, Clark had been counting votes and typically coming up a handful short of those needed to pass the bill. It wasn’t until Wednesday night, she said, she felt certain the votes were there.
As author of the bill, it was Clark who was able to end the more than three hours of speeches.
She offered special thanks to the late Sen. Allan Spear, who died in 2008. It was Spear who 20 years ago had led a hugely emotional — and important — push to add gays, lesbians and bisexuals to state human-rights protections.
“He’d be very proud of the fact that we’ve taken this step 20 years later,’’ she said.
MinnPost photo by James NordRep. Karen Clark and her partner, Jacquelyn Zita, join supporters in a rally outside the House chamber following the vote.
Clark also had special thanks for her peers who “are taking great chances’’ for supporting same-sex marriage. Many DFL legislators represent districts that supported the constitutional amendment that would have limited marriage to a man and a woman.
It was a few minutes after the vote and after the rules report had been dealt with that the House was adjourned.
Then, for a moment, there was nearly as much chaos on the House floor as outside the chamber.
Sen. Scott Dibble, chief author of the Senate bill, rushed to Clark, hugging her. All along, it has been assumed the measure had Senate support.
This vote and the cheering crowds “will only give us more momentum,’’ Dibble said.
After more hugs, more tears, the DFLers lined up behind their leaders, moved out of the chamber and into the throngs of people. What followed was a pep rally in the Capitol rotunda.