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SPEAKER: Well, it's 4:57. About 1,000 people or so are said to be at the Capitol at the grounds. The South staircase is where the attention is as governor Mark Dayton is scheduled to sign the bill that will make Minnesota the 12th state to allow same-sex marriage. And that's where our Tom Scheck is now. Tom, tell us what the scene is like there.

TOM SCHECK: Hi, Tom. Well, we're at the base of the Capitol steps here. And as you can hear, there are a lot of folks cheering. And they're cheering because the governor is actually coming down the steps, and he's making his way to a makeshift podium that was set up.

Just to set the scene for you here a little bit, where I'm at the base of the Capitol steps, behind me is the Capitol with the four horses that everyone knows so well. And what we're seeing is a lot of folks surrounding the stadium steps. At this point, we see it's a very hot day, as you mentioned, in the weather.

So we see a lot of shorts, a lot of spring and summer dresses, for that matter, a lot of sunglasses, and a lot of young people here wearing a lot of orange T-shirts. Those orange T-shirts are obviously emblematic of the [? MN ?] United campaign, which helped defeat the amendment to ban same-sex marriage in November. And then that group also worked to legalize same-sex marriage, which is about to take place here in a couple of minutes when the governor signs the bill.

I was talking to the Dean of the Capitol Press Corps earlier today, Bill Salisbury, from the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, and he mentioned that he doesn't actually remember a bill-signing ceremony like this that occurred on the State Capitol steps. He's been reporting at the State Capitol for about 30 years. So that shows you the significance of this.

There are probably 1,000 or so people. I can't actually see behind me. But when I looked earlier, there were about half the Capitol lawn was full or so. And there's also people, dignitaries around the podium as well-- Speaker of the House; the House Majority Leader; Richard [? Carlbom, ?] the person who led the [? MN ?] United campaign; the bill authors; and others as well.

With thousands of people here today. It kind of gives you a sense of the political importance of this and the magnitude of it. Same-sex couples have been lobbying for this for years. They were wondering whether or not this is going to take place. And the governor is actually now can be seen from the crowd, as I mentioned earlier. He's now coming up and is shaking some hands.

There were a lot of folks who were actually wondering whether or not this day would take place. Two years ago, the legislature put a bill or put a constitutional amendment up to ban same-sex marriage. And now they actually are going to legalize it. On August 1 of this year, same-sex couples will be married in Minnesota after the governor signs this bill.

Today's signing ceremony it's going to be just the start of a celebration here. Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has organized a ceremony. And here's the governor speaking.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

MARK DAYTON: What a-- What a day for Minnesota.

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And what a difference a year in an election can make in our state.

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Last year, there were concerns that marriage equality would be banned here forever. Now, my signature will make it legal in 2 and 1/2 months.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

First and foremost, I want to thank the people of Minnesota who voted last year to defeat a very destructive constitutional amendment--

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--and also to elect courageous legislators who would support this monumental social advance.

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I want to thank the activists, all of you here tonight and the thousands more throughout our state who worked so long and so hard to win this extraordinary victory.

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And at the risk of leaving out many deserving leaders, special recognition should go to Richard [? Carlbom. ?]

[CHEERS, CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

Richard brilliantly masterminded last year's and this year's campaigns.

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Congratulations to the chief authors, Representative Karen Clark and Senator Scott Dibble--

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

--who'll be speaking to you shortly. They shepherded this bill along an often difficult path, and they've now succeeded to the amazement of some and to the delight of many of us.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

Thank you to the House and Senate leaders, Speaker Paul Thissen--

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

--Majority Leader Tom Bock, who I think is in the Senate.

[LAUGHTER]

Majority Leader Erin Murphy.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

[INAUDIBLE] Senator Katie Sieben. And I guess she's in the Senate too. OK.

[LAUGHTER]

Working on the child-care bill is very important.

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And I want to express my utmost admiration to the Republican and Democratic legislators who voted for this bill.

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Many, many of them are standing here behind me, and they deserve to hear our gratitude.

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Last week, I suggested to you legislators that you read John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage book. Instead, you wrote its latest chapter. By your political courage, you join that pantheon of exceptional leaders who did something truly extraordinary. You changed the course of history for our state and our nation. Our country--

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

--our country's founding principle was stated 237 years ago in the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That--

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That principle was later embodied in the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

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Unfortunately, our nation's founding fathers had bold aspirations, but bad implementation.

[LAUGHTER]

They wrongly denied those equal rights and protections to women, African-Americans, and other racial minorities. They also left out GLBT men and women, if you believe, as I do, that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness certainly include the right to marry the person you love.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

Since then, our country's most important progress has been to extend those equal rights and protections to everyone. That progress has often been difficult, controversial, and initially divisive. However, it has always been the next step ahead to fulfilling this country's promise to every American. So it is now my honor to sign into law this next step for the state of Minnesota to fulfill its promise to every Minnesotan.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

TOM SCHECK: That was Governor Dayton giving some remarks before he signs the bill. Now he's heading over to the makeshift desk on the Capitol steps. He's shaking some hands and taking-- now he's signing the bill.

So the bill has been signed into law. And Minnesota is now the 12th state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota. The governor did have obviously an influence on this legislation.

And he obviously didn't talk about too much during his remarks. But what he did during this-- during the last few months is he lobbied heavily in September, October and November-- to try and defeat the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. And then he did something else that no other governor did. He actually, in February during his state of the state speech as the first governor in Minnesota actually called for the legalization of same sex marriage.

And he challenged the-- he challenged the legislature to pass the bill and send it to him, and he would sign it quickly, which he did right here. So governor Dayton has now signed the bill to law. He's shaking hands with Scott Dibble, the Senate author of the bill; Karen Clark, the house author of the bill. And now he's shaking hands. And Minnesota is now the 12th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

[CHEERS, APPLAUSE]

SPEAKER: That's Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck at the Capitol for the bill-signing ceremony going on now. Governor Mark Dayton has made Minnesota the nation's 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage. As Tom just said, we're bringing you this historic signing live here on Minnesota Public Radio News.

The governor used the word courage a few times, called the legislators who passed the bill courageous, made an allusion to John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. And he said, "You wrote its latest chapter." He also alluded to and quoted from the Declaration of Independence.

And he said, our country's most important progress has been to extend those equal rights and protections to everyone. But he said that's often been difficult, controversial, and initially divisive. And the governor, on a 96-degree day outside the capitol, sat at a desk and signed the bill into law.

It's 5:09, special coverage here on All Things Considered from Minnesota Public Radio News.