Gutknecht, maybe Kiffmeyer at Dialogues meeting next week

Two proposed amendments to the Minnesota constitution are on the ballot for voters to decide on Nov. 6.

One is the proposed amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota, and more than $7 million has been raised and spent this year to promote or defeat it.

The other proposed amendment has gotten much less attention, with fewer TV ads and certainly fewer mentions in sermons in church, yet it would have just as far-reaching consequences. It's the proposal to require a photo ID and make other changes in how Minnesotans vote.

The voter ID amendment would not only affect those who don't have IDs. It has the potential to affect the outcome of elections because of those changes -- and that means it would affect everyone.

That's the issue on the table for the next Post-Bulletin Dialogues community meeting, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 10/24, at the Rochester Public Library.

I'll be joined on the panel by representatives of Protect My Vote, the organization promoting the amendment, and Our Vote, Our Future, which opposes it, will be on hand, as well as others involved in the issue.

I just heard from Protect My Vote that former 1st District Rep. Gil Gutknecht will join us, for one, and possibly Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, who sponsored the legislation in the Minnesota House and previously was Minnesota Secretary of State.

P-B Dialogues meetings are free, informal conversations that allow citizens to ask questions and get answers about issues in the news.

If you can't be there and have a question, send it to furst@postbulletin.com, or go to the Furst Draft blog at PostBulletin.com.