St. Paul, Minnesota — Following its passage in the Senate this week, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a bill permitting homosexual marriage in the state.

According to reports, Dayton held a ceremony outside of the state capitol building for the signing, which attracted several thousand homosexual advocates, who waved rainbow flags in the air.

“What a day for Minnesota!” Dayton, a Democratic, exclaimed, joined by bill sponsors Representative Karen Clark and Senator Scott Dibble. He praised the lawmakers for succeeding in the passage of the legislation.

Following a divided vote of 75 to 59 in the House last week, an even tighter passage occurred in the Senate on Monday with a vote of 37 to 30.

“Members, God made gays,” said Senator Ron Latz during a lengthy debate over the matter. “And God made gays capable of loving other people. So who are we to quarrel with God’s intentions?”

Senator Daniel Hall, a pastor, strongly disagreed. He said that he had much greater and more permanent concerns other than being on “the wrong side of history.”

“[T]he truth is I’m more concerned about being on the right side of eternity,” Hall proclaimed. “Forcing others to give you your rights will never end well. It won’t give you the recognition you desire.”

Area residents who opposed the bill also made their voice heard outside of the capitol building. According to the Huffington Post, local resident Don Lee placed a tombstone on the lawn, which read “RIP marriage 2013.”

“The legislation being passed today is the end of marriage as we know it in Minnesota,” he told reporters. “It’s a transformation from a forward-looking sacrificial institution to one focused on adult desires.”

Minnesota now becomes the twelfth state to legalize same-sex nuptials, following Delaware and Rhode Island, which also passed bills this month. Homosexual “marriage” is currently legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington, Maine, Maryland and Vermont, and ceremonies are permitted in Washington, D.C. as well. However, over 30 states have a constitutional amendment on the books enshrining marriage as being solely between a man and a woman, where similar measures to legalize same-sex ceremonies have been struck down.

Homosexual “marriage” remains a significant issue across the nation this year as the United States Supreme Court is poised to release a decision regarding two lawsuits challenging the institution of marriage next month. As previously reported, the nine justices on the court are pondering matters pertaining to California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

During oral argument in March, Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed concern with whether the federal government even has the right to rule on the issue.

“The question is,” he asserted, “whether or not the federal government … has the authority to regulate marriage.”

“[DOMA] has 1,100 laws, which in our society means that the federal government is intertwined with the citizens’ day-to-day life, you are at real risk of running in conflict with what has always been thought to be the essence of the state police power, which is to regulate marriage, divorce, custody,” he continued.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor likewise questioned where the line would be drawn if the court approved of same-sex “marriage.”

“If you say that marriage is a fundamental right, what state restrictions could ever exist?” she inquired. “Meaning, what state restrictions with respect to the number of people, with respect to the incest laws, the mother and child, assuming that they are the age — I can accept that the state has probably an overbearing interest on protecting a child until they’re of age to marry, but what’s left?”

Ceremonies are set to begin in August in Minnesota.

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