May 13 marked the day that Minnesota became the twelfth state to legalize gay marriage. The bill was passed in the House earlier in May but had not yet made it through the Senate. The Senate voted to pass the bill May 13 at around 4 p.m.

Many Minnesota residents gathered outside the capitol in support of passing the bill and celebrated when it was officially passed.

Gay marriage has been a controversial topic in our nation for a long time. The issue shifted quickly as Minnesota citizens defeated an amendment that would have banned gay marriage in the state constitution about six months ago.

“Only one Republican senator, Branden Petersen of suburban Andover, voted for the bill. Three Democrats from rural districts voted against it,” according to CBS News.

There was plenty of controversy over the bill, one main issue being that it would affect the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Freedom of Religion.

“There was a compromise among the Senate to be able to pass this bill, gay marriage could be legalized as long as it did not affect the freedom of religion. Without that compromise, the bill would have never passed,” said Leadership teacher Doug Erickson. Many Orono students and former students posted statuses to Facebook commenting on, “how proud they were to be a Minnesotan on this day” and hash-tagging on Twitter “#loveislove”.

“When Alex St. Dennis and I discussed the idea of starting the Orono LGBTA, we never considered the possibility of seeing the legalization of gay marriage. Today, my and many others’s dream has been realized. Today, we are taking the first steps towards equality. I am so proud to be a Minnesotan. I am so proud to be an American. Now let’s achieve marriage equality in all 50 states and truly make America a land of liberty and justice for all,” said junior Hadley Patton.

“It’s great that people are celebrating the bill being passed, but it needs to be kept in mind that priests and ministers can still reject marrying two women or two men,” said OHS senior Marisa Johnson. “I am so happy that gays can be married and have equal rights. It just needs to be remembered that it isn’t total freedom.”

Minnesota is the first state in the Midwest to legalize gay marriage. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton pledged to sign the bill and hosted a ceremony at the state capitol at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14.

Madeline Hill is the Copy Chief for The Spartan Speaks.