As the Minnesota Legislature prepares
to debate a gay marriage bill, proponents on Tuesday released a new
ad online.
The measure has cleared House and
Senate committees and awaits floor votes in both chambers.
Minnesotans United for Marriage's
2-minute ad features Laura and Kelly Olmsted, who testified before
the House panel considering the marriage bill earlier this year.
“We wanted to make sure the committee
knew that there are families that look like ours, children like ours,
all across Minnesota and they deserve the same rights and protections
as any other family,” Laura Olmsted says in the video.
“We get up in the morning and
struggle to get our kids out the door and struggle to get to work on
time, just like every other family,” Kelly Olmsted says. “We go
through every day, live our lives, just like every other family.
Shouldn't we be treated like every other family?”
“No one should have to wait any
longer for basic freedom,” Laura adds. (The video is embedded on
this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
The issue of marriage equality has
returned to the Minnesota Capitol six months after voters in the
state became the first to reject an amendment which sought to define
marriage as a heterosexual union.