Marriage, rental cars and more marriage

Here's what comes from cleaning out two weeks of email.

Minnesota's Jake Reitan will be working with Obama in Oregon. He was tapped by real estate broker and investor Terry Bean who serves as Obama's National Finance Committee. Reitan has just completed a degree in divinity from Harvard. I ran into Jake's mom, Randi, at a LGBT fundraiser for Al Franken and she said the family is excited about his move.

[Note: I go to political fundraisers for blogging purposes and free booze. I do not contribute to candidates.]

Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean was in town yesterday giving a pep talk to Obama's Minneapolis workers and he stopped in to say hello to the folks at Wilde Roast Cafe.

Speaking of local business, local auto mogul Denny Hecker is pimping his nationwide Advantage Rent A Car business to the LGBT community, offering discounts for folks who use GayTravel.com. Cara Lyn Greco, GayTravel.com CEO, said in a release, “Advantage is making a significant, long-term commitment to our community and we’re proud to be their partner in these efforts.”

Along the lines of long-term commitments, the Star Tribune has a feature about Minnesota's gay and lesbian couples traveling to California to get married. Of course, not everyone is doing it and that's why the Strib put together a piece on the gays and lesbians who don't want or need marriage.

For those who do marry and would like to sue the state of Minnesota, a law firm is looking for willing couples who can pony up $1000 to cover legal costs.

And same-sex couples, married or otherwise, will not be counted in the US Census this time around.

For our neighbors to the east, they should not go to California at all. Wisconsin law prohibits it and those who do could face criminal penalties.