MINNESOTA: Marriage Bill Advances

The Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee tonight advanced its marriage equality bill by a voice vote.

Supporters say they will have the 68 votes needed to pass the bill in the House but are staying mum on how close they are to that number. "We will pass this bill," said a confident Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, after the committee vote. House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, has said he wouldn't schedule a floor vote on the gay marriage bill until he knows it would pass. Senate leaders say they have the votes to pass it and scheduled a last-meeting hearing for the bill in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday morning to also review the fiscal impacts.