Minnesota Republicans Unite Against Marriage Amendment

A prominent group of Minnesota Republicans has formally joined the effort to fight a proposed constitutional amendment that would restrict marriages to male-female couples.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on the announcement Thursday that five Republican leaders would join Minnesotans United for All Families, the group fighting the amendment. They are Dale Carpenter, who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School; former gubernatorial candidate Wheelock Whitney; Rep. John Kriesel of Cottage Grove, one of four House Republicans to oppose the amendment; former Bush White House counsel Richard Painter; and former St. Paul deputy mayor Susan Kimberly.

Carpenter said there were strong Republican reasons to oppose the amendment, including "belief in limited government and individual freedom," according to the Pioneer Press. Other members of the Minnesotans United coalition, which has more than 80 partners, include the Log Cabin Republicans.

Whitney said he would donate $100,000 to the effort and asked others to do the same, the Pioneer Press reported.