Reality Check: 5 Years Of Same-Sex Marriage In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Next week marks the fifth anniversary of a major milestone in Minnesota.
Gov. Mark Dayton signed the law legalizing same-sex marriage in Minnesota on May 14, 2013.
And five years later, it has sparked a major change in how Minnesota feels about it.
It is hard to remember just how widespread the opposition to same-sex marriage was.
Running for president in 2008, Democrat Barack Obama was against gay marriage, as was Hillary Clinton. And liberal California passed a constitutional amendment banning it.
But change was coming, fast.
An anti-gay marriage group named "Minnesota for Marriage" in 2012 supported an amendment to the Minnesota constitution, which would have legally defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
It aired a series of television commercials, including one in which it said, "Everyone has a right to love who they choose. But nobody has a right to redefine marriage."
Minnesotans defeated the constitutional ban on gay marriage at the polls in 2012, and six months later, Minnesota state lawmakers legalized same-sex marriage.
In 2013, only 38 percent of Minnesotans supported same-sex marriage, and 53 percent opposed it.
Five years later, in 2018, 67 percent support same sex marriage.
In fact, support for same-sex marriage is now the majority opinion in 44 states, a lightning-quick change in public attitude. Nationwide, 61 percent of Americans support it while 30 percent are opposed.
But five years after same-sex marriage, there is still controversy. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide soon whether a Colorado baker can refuse to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple because of his religious beliefs.
If the religious freedom objection is upheld, it could change how opponents of gay marriage can operate a business.
Meanwhile, the number of Minnesota same-sex marriages continue to grow.
In 2014, the first full year it was legal, Minnesota married 2,934 same-sex couples, or 5.868 people in total.
In 2016, according to the Minnesota State Demographer's office, "On 1 July 2016 there were 8,594 households that included same-sex married couples. That's 17,164 individuals when both the spouse and head of householder are counted."
Here Are Some Of The Sources We Used For This Reality Check:
5 Facts About Same Sex Marriage
MN Legislative Reference Library: Same Sex Marriage in Minnesota
Census Finds 1,330 Same Sex Couples in Minnesota
MN Dept of Human Rights: Same Sex Marriage Law
Williams Institute - UCLA School of Law
Top 20 Cities For Same Sex Couples
Minnesota Poll: Most Minnesotans Oppose Gay Marriage March 2013
Minnesota For Marriage TV AD: threat To Marriage
Emerging Consensus on LGBTQ Issues
Minnesota Lawyer: Bills To Curtail LGBT Rights Are Failing In US Legislatures
US Treasure Department: Joint Filing By Same Sex Couples
Detailed Map Of Gay Marriage In America
CBS News: Supreme Court to Decide Gay Marriage Case
Minnesota Family Council: Religious Freedom