MFC and ADF intervene in lawsuit to legalize homosexual "marriage"

Notice to intervene in lawsuit seeking to overturn Minnesota’s marriage law is filed by group seeking to protect marriage

Group was instrumental in passage of Minnesota’s Defense of Marriage law in 1997 and wants to ensure it is strongly defended in the courts.

MINNEAPOLIS – Tom Prichard, President of the Minnesota Family Council today announced the filing of a notice of intervention in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Minnesota’s marriage law.

“We’re filing this notice to intervene to ensure Minnesota’s marriage law is vigorously defended in the courts. We are being assisted in this effort by the Alliance Defense Fund, the national expert in defending marriage laws across the country. We believe it’s absolutely vital that all the necessary arguments are made to uphold Minnesota’s marriage law,” said Prichard.

An intervention in a lawsuit occurs when a person or group, which has a particular interest in the outcome of a case, petitions the court to become a party to the lawsuit. The intervening party is then allowed to make arguments defending their interests.

“We want to assist the Hennepin County attorney with all the legal resources they need to strongly defend the law in court,” added Prichard. “This is the first time a lawsuit has sought to challenge Minnesota’s marriage law under the Minnesota Constitution. Neither the county attorney nor the state’s attorney general have ever been called upon to defend the constitutional basis for our state’s marriage law. We want to ensure that all the necessary legal resources are available to see that is accomplished.”

“We at the MFC have a unique interest in the outcome of this lawsuit. We were the principle initiators and lobbyists for the Minnesota Defense of Marriage legislation when it was passed in 1997. We are involved in efforts to protect the institution of marriage through a state constitutional amendment. We’ve worked to strengthen marriages through divorce reform legislation and marriage strengthening initiatives. And of course, our constituents strongly support defending marriage. Over 100,000 Minnesotans signed our marriage protection petition calling for passage of state marriage amendment,” concluded Prichard.