I'm trying to get this out of my system without sounding overly biased or paranoid. I'll leave it up to those with conflicting beliefs to tell me if I succeed in making my point. Here goes.

First off, neither same-sex marriage nor same-sex civil unions are legal in the state of Minnesota in 2012. Both are already illegal and there are no initiatives on the November ballot to change that.

Yet there's a political battle brewing in Minnesota over same-sex marriage this fall. Why? Because our ballot contains an amendment to clarify in our state constitution that same-sex marriage is really, truly illegal.

Let me repeat. Same-sex marriage in Minnesota IS illegal. Already. This amendment would simply change that "no" to "Hell, no."

So who stands to gain from this amendment? A lot of lobbyists will be employed to rally around this cause. And it's a great opportunity for politicians to distract voters from real issues. (Throw out the words "gay marriage" and people tend to forget about pesky issues such as unemployment rates and balanced budgets.)

The ultimate goal of this amendment is to fire conservatives and inspire them to go to the polls this November. They may not have strong feelings about Romney, but they'll go to the polls for this issue and cast a ballot for him while they're in there. This is a hot topic that's sure to draw a lot of non-committal citizens back into the political fray.

This amendment has no legal impact; its purpose is simply to fan political flames. It's merely a manipulative ploy, but there are real people out there who will be hurt by this.

Conservative Republican MN state senator John Kriesel, who lost both legs fighting for our country, said he could not support this amendment while welcoming his fellow soldiers (some of whom are openly gay) back home to Minnesota. This amendment is hurtful, senseless, and it should not be passed.

I'm with him. The ends do NOT justify the means.