Yes it was the issue that brought down last year's legislative session, but supporters of a ban on same-sex marriage say they're ready to push for it again. Specifically, they want a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November of 2006 that would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman. MPR's Tom Scheck has the story:

Sen. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, believes that momentum is on her side this year. Bachmann, who is a candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 6th District, says voters in 13 states passed ballot measures forbidding gay marriage in the past year. She says political pressure will force a Senate vote.

"We saw that the public has overwhelmingly stated their opinions at the ballot box. They want marriage to remain as one man and one woman. Because that dynamic of the people speaking, we believe that that's indicative of what the voice of the people in Minnesota is as well," she said.

If both the House and Senate approve, the amendment would go on the state ballot no sooner than November 2006.

And that prompts some to question why the Senate should consider the bill this session. DFL Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson says he'd prefer to see the Senate consider constitutional amendments next session. He says Bachmann is trying to distract the public from the state's budget problems. He says lawmakers have more important things to consider this year.

"Let's get back to the bread-and-butter issues of the budget. That's why I keep talking about 'why not the budget discussion? Why not a public education discussion?' We're on to a discussion of a social agenda," Johnson said.

Johnson suggested that Senate DFLers are willing to add other constitutional amendments if Bachmann is successful. He says voters should decide the constitutionality of state gambling and if universal health care should be provided.

Bachman says the proposed amendment would also ban civil unions. Some DFLers say she's trying to use the issue to solidify the Republican base in her run for Congress. And the House version of the bill will get its first hearing on March 18 in Grand Rapids at a special outside the Capitol (and in a DFL district) meeting of the Civil Law and Elections Committee.

It's not only gay marriage that will preoccupy lawmakers. There's more gambling too. Pat Doyle reports in the Star Tribune that Canterbury Park is ready with the latest version of a racino plan:

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, a sponsor of the legislation, said the plan is for the casino to pump "about $100 million a year" into the state government after paying a one-time fee of perhaps $100 million or more.

[Canterbury President Randy] Sampson said that the casino, hotel and conference center proposed by Canterbury would cost $120 million and that the gambling would be on a larger scale than in Canterbury's unsuccessful racino proposal.

It would include 3,000 slot machines, compared with 2,000 in the old proposal, as well as blackjack, which wasn't included in the earlier bid. Canterbury has offered a similar game, 21, in its card room, but it is generally not as profitable as blackjack. The blackjack would be banked by the house, just as it is in tribal casinos.

The casino would be smaller than Mystic Lake in Prior Lake, which has about 4,000 slots, but have more slots than reported last year at Treasure Island in Red Wing.

The governor has proposed 4,000 slot machines at his new metro casino. Add Canterbury's 3,000 and we're up to 7,000. If the new harness racetrack in Anoka County gets in the game we could be headed to 10,000. Sounds like it could be time for a new state motto.

Finally, it's Dan Rather's last day as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Many of Rather's current and former colleagues have spent the week kicking him while he's down, as evidenced in last week's New Yorker. The AP has this:

A CBS affiliate was taking a vote among its viewers on whether to air the network's prime-time tribute to Rather, and, in his last full week on the air, Rather finished a distant third in the ratings.

Also, a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released Tuesday night said
the percentage of people who say they believe all or most of what
Rather says has declined to 23 percent, compared with 34 percent in
2002.

All we can say to Dan is "Courage!"