Secret tape stirs Minnesota gay marriage debate

Secret tape stirs Minnesota gay marriage debate

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- One of Minnesota's top Democrats is catching grief after getting caught on tape telling a lie -- or, as he put it, "sanding off the truth."

Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson was recorded assuring a group of pastors that several state Supreme Court justices had told him they would not legalize gay marriage.

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The story behind the tape is rooted in the tense fight over whether Minnesota should have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Johnson has consistently blocked the proposal, calling gay marriage opponents mean-spirited and divisive.

Speaking in January to a group of rural pastors, Johnson said he had spoken with at least three current or former Supreme Court justices, who told him the high court would never overturn the state's Defense of Marriage law. In other words, a state law banning same-sex marriage was safe, so why amend the constitution?

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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/24/gay.marriage.tape.ap/index.html

(mods: this is from yesterday, but although it is very important I can't find it using the search)

Sorry but I don't see this as a bad thing during an election year for our side.

apparently one of them 'secretly' taped the conversation.

(Dean Johnson is a Lutheran minister) and it was one of the pastors. I believe the guy who did the taping is the minister at a right wing mega church that recently held some kind of big "defense of marriage" thing that was attended by none other than Governor Timmy "the tool" Pawlenty as well as the Republican speaker of the (Minn) house and other wingnuts.

Dean Johnson was himself a Republican until a few years ago when he saw the light. He's a decent man and generally well respected.

so it is far from new. Sen Johnson got royally set up by the MN GOP. He will be apologizing on Monday after a formal ethics complaint over this launched by the MN GOP state senators.

They just want to get the base riled up and take over the state senate so they can control all parts of MN state government. The ammendment is just a excuse for a power grab.

It is certainly new here at DU.

If every Senator is going to have to apologize for stretching the truth there is going to be a lot of apologizing. (Lets start with Bachman being attacked in the ladies room by her constituents.)

I just don't see a lot of Minnesotans who support Johnson anyway buying into this setup.

do not buy this setup. Any moderate can see this smells to high heaven.

He should be censured for it but it was just plain dumb.