![GOP Lawmaker Who Was On Fence A ‘No’ On Gay Marriage](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2013/05/Pat-Garofalo.jpg?w=980&q=75)
GOP Lawmaker Who Was On Fence A ‘No’ On Gay Marriage
ST. PAUL (AP) - A Republican legislator who was weighing his vote on a gay marriage bill says he will oppose it during Thursday's Minnesota House vote.
Farmington Rep. Pat Garofalo told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he reached the decision the night before. The fifth-term lawmaker says he has reservations about the adequacy of religious protections in the gay marriage bill. He expects the measure will become law regardless of his vote.
Garofalo says he favors affording more legal rights to same-sex couples through civil unions. An amendment to substitute civil unions for marriage will be offered Thursday, but faces long odds.
Endorsing gay marriage would have been a reversal for Garofalo, who voted in 2011 to advance a proposed same-sex marriage constitutional ban to the statewide ballot. It failed last November.
More From AM 1240 WJON
![St. Ben’s, St. John’s Official Higher Ed Partners with MN United](http://townsquare.media/site/70/files/2019/11/soccer_ball_getty_Michael-Regan_Getty24.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Gas Prices Fall in Minnesota, Rise Nationally](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/04/attachment-GettyImages-97962772.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![St. Cloud’s Coborn’s, CentraCare Make List of Biggest Minnesota Employers](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Jobs3-Thinkstock-GettyImages.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Central MN Meat Market Introduces 24/7 Meat Vending Machine](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-Jen-and-Travis.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Becker Woman Hurt in Crash Near Spicer](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2023/06/State-Patrol-Stock-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Get Ready For Change: Minnesota Introduces Area Code 924 Overlay](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-NewAreaCode.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![MSP Ranked Top U.S. Airport in 2024](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-MAC_MSP-Airport_Terminal-1_Delta_6x4_200.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Riding High: Amtrak Borealis Trains Impress In First Month](http://townsquare.media/site/67/files/2024/07/attachment-AmtrakBorealis-AmtrakHandoutPhoto.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![90s Possible in Minnesota this Weekend](http://townsquare.media/site/669/files/2021/07/attachment-RS45164_GettyImages-1150050227-scr.jpg?w=980&q=75)