MN United for All Familes

On November 6th MN will either become

#30

or

#1

If it becomes #30 that means it will have followed the 29 (or 30) other states that asked voters about constitutional amendments limiting marriage to same sex couples.

If it becomes #1, it will be the first state to reject such amendments.

Today I went on Minnesotans United for All Familes first door knocking. During the intro they explained that what has been learned for the losses in all these other states, is that it takes personal stories to make a difference and they asked us to take a bit of time to consider our personal story that we could share.

I didn't really have one and I started wondering why I was there.

Pretty quickly this was answered by the person I was paired to door knock with. "Anne" has been with her partner 20 years and they are raising three children together. Suddenly my lack of personal story was sitting right beside me.

As we did our door knocking practice/role play I came closer to my truth and story. I want to live in a state where people feel safe and supported to be fully themselves. I don't want to live in a state that asks people to hide who they are or feel ashamed of who they are or tells them they are worth less for who they are.

I figured Anne had a lot more power for persuasion with such personal experience, being able to say, "I want to get married." (She did get married in '95 in a church in MN, but not legally of course.) But this also makes her more vulnerable. I've done quite a bit of door knocking, and it still makes me nervous and especially on an issue this personal. And this is WHY I need to be there.

Neither of us had any unkind experiences, though a couple did disagree. Anyway, I'm grateful for this experience and Anne and all the other volunteers and the six rockin states that allow people to fully love who they love. (And seriously if Iowa our neighbor can be so cool, we can too.)