A larger image of the bridge:





The marriage equality bill, which already passed the House, is widely expected to pass the Senate this afternoon. Governor Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill, probably at a ceremony tomorrow. Yep. Marriage equality is happening in Minnesota. Which, as jpmassar notes in his diary on the subject, is especially delicious considering the anti-gay campaign the haters tried to stir up just last year:



Not only did Minnesota's voters reject the proposition, but the organization created to oppose it and the tremendous effort that went into its defeat galvanized supporters of marriage equality. With Democrats retaking the legislature at the same time something most people thought wouldn't be possible for years - passing marriage equality - suddenly seemed, if not within reach, then tantalizingly close to supporters' fingertips. With a little help from Rhode Island and Delaware, favorable opinion polling and a few key legislators "coming out" in support, tantalizingly close transformed into firm grasp.

This one must really sting.

I know it stings Minnesota Rep. Peggy Scott (R), who whined as she literally wiped tears from her eyes after the House victory:



My heart breaks for Minnesota. It's a divisive issue that divides our state. It's not what we needed to be doing at this time. We want to come together for the state of Minnesota, we don't want to divide it.

This concern about a "divisive issue" from a woman who, just last year, eagerly voted in favor of placing a bitterly divisive anti-gay amendment on the ballot. Fuck you, Rep. Scott. Your side has lost. Get used to that taste of failure and irrelevance in your mouth.

But today isn't about Peggy Scott or any of the haters, is it? It's about the thousands of same-sex Minnesota couples that will very soon be seen as fully equal in the eyes of state law. It's about the committed partnerships that will soon be on equal footing with heterosexual marriages. It's a big day for Minnesota indeed.

Senate debate on the marriage equality bill is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM EST. You can watch history be made here or here. Also, be sure to check out Rieux's Minnesota marriage equality liveblog.