North Duh-kota and Whiz-sconsin join the rest of the 5 state area in coming closer to gay marriage

Iowa has gay marriage.

Minnesota has gay marriage.

The remaining backward states in the region are being dragged into the 21st century, and real freedom and equality, in spite of the attempts by the right to create a tier of 2nd class citizens.

And now Whiz-sconsin and North Duh-kota have recently joined South Duh-kota in facing legal challenges that are expected to overturn their gay marriage bans.

Six couples on May 22, 2014 filed a lawsuit in South Dakota.  Those challenges have yet to be heard in court.  As noted in the Washington Blade, both Iowa and Minnesota same sex marriage recognition is central to those challenges.

Six same-sex couples on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit seeking marriage rights in South Dakota.
The lead plaintiffs — Nancy and Jennie Rosenbrahn of Rapid City who have been together for 27 years — exchanged vows last month in Minnesota during a ceremony that Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges officiated.
The Pennington County Register of Deeds in March refused to issue the women a marriage license. Rapid City officials earlier this month also denied their request to change their name after they tied the knot in Minnesota.
Clay Schweitzer and Jeremy Coller of Rapid City last month also tried to apply for a marriage license at the Pennington County Register of Deeds, but were denied. The couple married in Iowa on May 14.

As of the May 22nd filing, North Dakota was the only state left without a legal challenge to gay marriage. That changed on Friday when seven couples filed a challenge to the same sex marriage ban.
According to the Wa Po:

Lawsuit challenges North Dakota gay marriage ban

BISMARCK, N.D. — Seven couples filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging the constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage in North Dakota, making it the last state in the country with a ban to be sued by gay couples seeking the right to wed in their home state. A federal judge also struck down Wisconsin’s ban, ruling it was unconstitutional.
The North Dakota lawsuit, filed in federal court in Fargo, challenges both that state’s ban on gay marriage and its refusal to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who legally wed in other states.
That means cases are currently pending in all 31 states with gay marriage bans. Judges have overturned several state bans since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year, with Wisconsin being the latest. Many of those rulings are being appealed, and Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen quickly vowed to do so.
… A federal judge has struck down Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage Friday, June 6, 2014, ruling it unconstitutional. It wasn’t clear whether same-sex marriages could immediately begin.
North Dakota’s attorney general said he had not yet seen the lawsuit challenging the state’s 2004 ban, which claims violations on three issues that are guaranteed in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: equal protection, due process and right to travel.
“Ultimately, only the Supreme Court can determine whether North Dakota’s enactment is constitutional or not,” Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement.
Legal experts said because North Dakota is the last state to face a lawsuit, a federal appeals court that covers the region or even the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on another case first, making the lawsuit largely symbolic given that all states with bans have now been challenged.
“They’re not going to just wait around, because it’s inevitably coming,” Carpenter said. Rulings in the 4th and 10th Circuit Court of Appeals are expected in the coming months.
Gay couples already can wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

So, to recap – Minnesota was the 12th state to legislate gay marriage. Now that is the case in 7 more states, and the district of Columbia with legal rulings in some stage of advancement in 31 others. Wisconsin is only the latest in a long line of decisions overturning gay marriage. Colorado has civil unions.
From CNN:

Facts: Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 U.S states and the District of Columbia: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Same-sex marriage is banned by constitutional amendment or state law in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The laws banning same-sex marriage in Arkansas, Idaho, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Virginia have been ruled unconstitutional. Those decisions have been stayed and are awaiting appeals. Judges in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee have issued limited rulings relating to same-sex marriages, but have not ruled that bans are unconstitutional.
Worldwide, 16 other countries (and parts of Mexico) also have laws allowing same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships. Most of these are in Europe and South America.

Here is the most recent chronology (same source as above):

April 14, 2014 – U.S. District Judge Timothy Black orders Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
May 9, 2014 – An Arkansas state judge declares the state’s voter-approved same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
May 13, 2014 – U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Wagahoff Dale rules that the Idaho ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional and fails to live up to the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment that guarantee no “state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The order is set to take effect May 16, 2014. An appeal is filed.
May 15, 2014 – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals responds to the appeal from Idaho. It issues a temporary stay against same-sex marriage in Idaho, which was to go into effect May 16, 2014.
May 16, 2014 – Arkansas state Supreme Court issues an emergency stay as its judges consider the appeal to the state judge’s ruling for same-sex marriage. This leaves the legal status of more than 400 gay and lesbian couples who got marriage licenses in limbo.
May 19, 2014 – A federal judge strikes down Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage.
May 20, 2014 – U.S. District Judge John E. Jones strikes down Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage.
June 1, 2014 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Illinois.
April 14, 2014 – U.S. District Judge Timothy Black orders Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
May 9, 2014 – An Arkansas state judge declares the state’s voter-approved same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.
May 13, 2014 – U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Wagahoff Dale rules that the Idaho ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional and fails to live up to the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment that guarantee no “state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The order is set to take effect May 16, 2014. An appeal is filed.
May 15, 2014 – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals responds to the appeal from Idaho. It issues a temporary stay against same-sex marriage in Idaho, which was to go into effect May 16, 2014.
May 16, 2014 – Arkansas state Supreme Court issues an emergency stay as its judges consider the appeal to the state judge’s ruling for same-sex marriage. This leaves the legal status of more than 400 gay and lesbian couples who got marriage licenses in limbo.
May 19, 2014 – A federal judge strikes down Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage.
May 20, 2014 – U.S. District Judge John E. Jones strikes down Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage.
June 1, 2014 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Illinois.

Same sex marriage is clearly not the wedge issue it was in the past, and not something the current crop of MN GOP candidates or even tea partiers are talking about much these days. If pressed, most of them mumble mumble on some sort of pre-rehearsed nothing statement about traditional marriage and family, but not with conviction or enthusiasm.

By November 2014, I predict this will be a completely lost issue for the right, and that it will go away with more of a whimper than a big noise.