Vote no on Tuesday to the constitutional marriage amendment that will read: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Minnesota?”

On that date, Minnesotans will have the chance to do what dozens of other states have failed to do. They get to show support for their friends, family members and neighbors in a basic civil rights issue. The games of intolerance that involve race, color and sexual orientation have no place in a world that needs to work much harder toward erasing narrow-mindedness.

A no vote won’t make gay marriage legal; it will, however, allow us and future generations to continue to take part in the conversation about what marriage is, and what it should be.

A yes vote constitutionally limits this right — possibly for good.

We think limiting the freedom of dialogue for future generations is wrong.

We believe that love and commitment are the fundamental foundations of any marriage and to withhold this basic right and impose a government mandate against a same-sex union is wrong.

A yes vote will be a huge step backward for the state and for rights for good people everywhere. A yes vote is government interference in people’s freedom, in people’s personal lives.

We believe that either future generations through the ballot box or their federal courts will overturn the amendment anyway, should it pass — just as past generations overturned intolerant laws ranging from to interracial marriage to the basic right to vote.

We as a state need to be able to continue to offer open discussion about issues so that our future generations will have a voice as well. We may not all agree on the issue of same-sex marriage, but we should all believe in having a voice and having that voice heard.

Let’s be on the right side of history. Vote no on this marriage amendment.