MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- About 120 religious leaders of different faiths Thursday announced the formation of Clergy United for All Families, which will work to defeat the marriage amendment on the November ballot.
The proposed amendment would write Minnesota's current law defining marriage as one man and one woman into the state constitution.
The leaders from a range of Christian and Jewish faiths gathered at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis. They said the amendment goes against their belief that marriage is about love and commitment, not gender, and that the amendment would discriminate against same-sex couples.
But Jeff Evans, who does church outreach for Minnesota for Marriage, a group supporting the amendment, says that view is in the minority.
"The defense of marriage is really bringing together just a tremendous amount of diversity in our state," Evans said. "I know there are a small band of people who are not supportive of marriage the way that we understand it, but they really seem to be a small minority compared to what I've been seeing across the state."
Leaders with Clergy United say they will encourage conversations about the proposed amendment among their congregations in the months leading up to the election.
Rabbi Melissa Simon of Temple Shir Tikvah in Minneapolis says all people are made in the image of God.
Grant Stevensen"And I think it's really important to know that people of faith in Minnesota, many of them who join me today, have taken a very strong stand to say that we as people of faith are voting no," she said.
By Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio News, listen to MPR on 91.1 FM
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