As August comes to a close and the campaigns involved in the anti-gay marriage amendment move to full steam, opponents of the amendment have gotten big name support in the last week: Pediatricians, chefs, baptists, Hell’s Kitchen, Room and Board, and St. Olaf faculty.

Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics came out against the amendment last Thursday. It listed three reasons for its opposition to the amendment:

1. LGBT adolescents and their families need to know they are supported by their pediatricians and their communities.

2. Marriage amendments may lead to an increase in bullying and violence against LGBT youth and greater intolerance for them and their families. These children are already more prone to bullying and suicide than their heterosexual counterparts. A marriage amendment could add to the social stigma they face every day.

3. Nationally, nearly one-quarter of all same-sex couples are raising children and eight percent of them are raising children with special health care needs. There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents. More than 25 years of research has documented that there is no relationship between parents’ sexual orientation and any measure of a child’s emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral adjustment. Rather, children’s optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationships and interactions within the family than by the particular structural form it takes.

Baptists Vote No launched on Thursday including Pastor Doug Donley:

At St. Olaf College in Northfield, the faculty voted on Thursday to oppose the amendment, though the school itself will not be taking a position.

Golden Valley-based furniture company, Room and Board, announced their opposition to the amendment on Thursday:

“Room & Board is dedicated to helping customers create homes they love. We recognize that the joy found in one’s home extends far beyond our surroundings to the people with whom we spend our lives. To that end, we have long supported efforts dedicated to strengthening home and family. We oppose the amendment to the Minnesota Constitution banning marriage for same-sex couples.
Each and every day we celebrate diversity. We take pride in providing a progressive, balanced and positive work environment that is based on trust, fairness and respect. This core philosophy shapes the relationships we have with our customers, vendor partners and employees.
Our holistic wellness approach supports the well-being of our employees and their loved ones. We have offered domestic partnership benefits for nearly 20 years. Please join us in recognizing the strength of inclusion by voting ‘No’ this November.”

Hell’s Kitchen, one of downtown Minneapolis’ busiest restaurants, was threatened with a boycott for supporting a group that supports a “no” vote in November. As Minnesota for Equality notes, the restaurant doubled down:

Last week, when you threatened to boycott Hell’s Kitchen if we continue to support the North Star Roller Girls because of their “Vote NO” stance on the marriage amendment vote, we were taken aback. Not because you said you’d announce your boycott via Facebook, tweets and calls into local conservative radio shows, but because you were obviously unaware of Hell’s Kitchen’s fierce, longtime support of the GLBT Community. We haven’t just supported the “Vote NO” stance, we’ve embraced it. And we haven’t just embraced it, we’ve also walked the talk by throwing a fundraiser for it as well.

Finally, Star Tribune columnist Lori Sturdevant gives the Vote No forces at the fair a blue ribbon.