Supporters of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage are Calling for Sen. Dean Johnson's head. They want Johnson to resign over statements he made (and that someone tape recorded) at a meeting with pastors a couple months ago.

Johnson said he had talked with a number of members of the Supreme Court, including former chief justice Kathleen Blatz and they had assured him they would not overturn Minnesota's current law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Blatz denies ever saying that, and a court spokesman points out it would be a serious ethical breach for any justice to make a commitment about how he or she might vote on an issue.

MPR's Tim Pugmire quoted Jeff Davis, president of Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage:

"This is just indicative of the type of misinformation campaign that we believe Sen. Johnson has been on, on this issue, for the past two years. And given the fact that he has now obviously we believe been caught in a lie, it's incumbent upon him to step down."

Johnson was in Mississippi Wednesday to see off Minnesota National Guard troops who are headed to Iraq. He issued a statement saying his remarks were misconstrued:

First and foremost, I have at no time ever received any promises or commitments regarding any potential judicial cases from any member of the state Supreme Court."

We have a reporter in Mississippi and we're trying to get more from Johnson. If not, we'll catch him for sure when he gets back.

More strong rhetoric at the Capitol on another issue--voting. MPR's Tom Scheck was tracking a hearing in the House Civil Law committee on GOP Rep. Tom Emmer's bill that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and a photo id for voting:

Rep. Keith Ellison, DFL-Minneapolis, said the bill is a "nefarious attempt" by Republicans to make it more difficult for people of color, the poor and the elderly to vote.

"This is voter suppression pure and simple. The people who are proposing this don't want to try to persuade Americans to vote for their point of view, they just want to stop Americans from being able to vote at all," he said.

Who should get to vote on what? It's the question of the day at the Minnesota Capitol.