Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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  • Ashen Victor

    Love have no frontiers and marriage is a burden anyone should be allowed to suffer… just kidding, Congratulations!

    • rafterman

      I live in Minneapolis.

  • benher

    Finally! MN doing something to make up for Michelle Bachman!

    • http://www.facebook.com/lee.crocker Lee Daniel Crocker

      …who appears to have re-elected. :-(

      • Ramone

        Not by a mandate that’s for damn sure. Looks like it might actually trigger an auto-recount.

        • http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker

          When you win by 1 percentage point in a district THAT gerrymandered after spending THAT much money, it ain’t much of a win. 

          • Ramone

            INDEED. :)

          • http://horseisahorse.myopenid.com/ HorseIsAHorse

            Unfortunately, that’s not the way she’ll spin it, and that’s not the way the people who voted for her will see it. Expect God to be invoked, early and often. Probably along the lines of saving her in order for her to lead the fight against Teh Gay.

          • bosconet

            HA! , her district is down right sensible……look at the congressional district map for Maryland especially the 3rd district. http://planning.maryland.gov/redistricting/2010/congDist.shtml

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher

    After last night I’m beginning to believe, for the first time in my life, that I might actually live long enough to see marriage equality in the United States. 

  • toasterslie

    USA! USA! BORK BORK BORK! USA!

  • costeau

    Happy days for Minnesota!
    But there’s just this one thing I’m very curious about, Maggie:What’s the Swedish Chef got to do with marriage equality or voter ID? Or does he just bring you loads of joy, perhaps? :-)

    • http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker

      He does bring joy. But the joke is really about Minnesota’s Swedish (and Scandinavian, in general) heritage, which is often credited as an explanation for this state’s socially liberal leanings. 

      • IronEdithKidd

        BTW- Thank you for the vid.  Sweedish Chef was just about my favorite muppet when I was little.  I’d also like to thank you for reminding me that it’s time to pick up the entire series so I can share it with my son.

        More OT, congrats on continuing the liberal traditions that I’ve always loved about MN.  (Srsly, though, you’re getting beaten in the progressive department by freakin’ Iowa.  Get it together.)

        • http://horseisahorse.myopenid.com/ HorseIsAHorse

          And now on the other side, Wisconsin’s got Senator Tammy. MN still has to undo the LEGISLATED ban on equal-marriage.

          Well, at least MN still has Senator Al. Although now that I think about it, his re-election bid will be in an off-year. And the Big Fat Idiot will be targeting him…

          • IronEdithKidd

            I’d pay money to watch that fight. 

          • allium

             Especially since Franken wrestled in high school.

            (“Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider plays in background)

      • http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher

        Whenever I think of Minnesota I always think of two things: Garrison Keillor and Michelle Bachmann.

        This morning I find myself feeling that only one of those truly represents Minnesota.

  • Russell Letson

    A note to non-Minnesotans: Rep. Bachmann’s given name is spelled Michele, which allows us to distinguish her from the other politically and artistically significant Michelles.

    And our Michele (she is, to my chagrin, still my representative) barely beat (by .6% last I heard) a well-heeled business guy and job creator (a real one) who in a saner world would  be a moderate Republican, if any such were allowed to exist in Minnesota’s GOPland. (Former GOP Governor Arne Carlson endorsed him. But then, the party purged Carlson, along with former Governor Quie and former Senator Durenberger, a couple years back.)

    • IronEdithKidd

      My condolences.  Here’s to hoping you can move just a little further east, north or south (assuming you’re in WBL and not St. Cloud or “the sticks”)!

  • Lowrah Saurus

    I am unclear on what makes Minnesota the “first state” to vote against a “constitutional amendment banning gays and lesbians from marrying.”  I keep seeing this written, but I am not sure how it can be true.  Arizona defeated Proposition 107 in 2006.

    “Arizona Proposition 107 was a proposed same-sex marriage ban, put before voters byballot initiative in the 2006 General Election. If passed, it would have prohibited the state of Arizona from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions. The state already had a statute defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.[1]
    This proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution received 48.2% of the vote with 51.8% opposed, making Arizona the first U.S. state to defeat a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Several states approved similar measures between 1998 and 2006.[2]“ 
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Proposition_107_%282006%29

    Maybe MN is the first state to defeat an amendment that only talked about marriage, as opposed to marriage and civil unions?

  • http://pocketprogressive.org Uncle Geo

    Minnesota also rocks in so many other ways. Besides upending the marriage amendment we also defeated a voter ID amendment, carried the state for Obama, won the state House and the state Senate and currently hold all the statewide offices (Gov, Sec State, AG and State Auditor). Our DFL (MN’s Democrats’) ground game regularly swamps the GOP’s hired guns -even with our volunteers spread among the races and ballot initiatives.

    Our voting machines still simply tally good ‘ol paper ballots and we showed Florida and the rest of the nation how to handle recounts (Sen. Franken, Gov. Dayton). And our Governor Mark Dayton is an authentically compassionate and fearless Liberal. 

    We got very very close but still must apologize to all y’all for Michele Bachmann -sorry about that. She’s entertaining though, dontcha think?