The time has come.

History will judge whether Minnesota and its leaders made the right decisions when it comes to same-sex marriage. Were the people of 2013 discriminatory or were they compassionate? Were they closed-minded or were they open-minded?

On Nov. 2, when urging readers to vote no on the gay-marriage amendment referendum that month, this Editorial Board said same-sex marriage is a civil-rights issue. We wrote in an editorial: “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.”

We commend the Minnesota House of Representatives for unlocking the door to marriage for many honest, hard-working, tax-paying Minnesotans who have found love. Now we urge the Minnesota Senate to do the same and send the measure to the desk of Gov. Mark Dayton, who has said he would sign the bill.

This is a social issue that has brought out deep emotions on both sides of the issue. But the country and the state are headed in the right direction. Many opponents have switched sides in the debate to become proponents. The tide has turned, and within 10 years, this won’t be an issue, much like interracial marriage is no longer an issue. Same-sex marriage — not everywhere, but for the most part — will be generally accepted and legal.

Let’s do the right thing now, not later.