MNGOP Sen. Dan Hall suggests gay marriage supporters are unpatriotic

Hall later said "no one is calling anyone unpatriotic."

SEE ALSO:
-- MN Marriage amendment: Majority support one man-one woman definition, says new survey
-- MN for Marriage, anti-gay marriage group, says it 'continues to stand strong against intolerance'
-- John Kriesel, pro-gay marriage MNGOP Rep., won't seek reelection [VIDEO]

Either Dan Hall isn't worried about pissing off pro-gay marriage independents and conservatives, or he really needs to think twice before hitting that "Tweet" button.

Hall -- a first-term MNGOP Senator representing parts of Bloomington, Savage, and Burnsville who is up for reelection this November -- is feeling blowback after suggesting yesterday that gay marriage supporters are unpatriotic.

Here's Hall's tweet, which featured a photo of three homes on a residential street in Duluth. Two of the homes have "Vote No" signs without an American flag visible in their yards; the third has no political yard signs, but does have an American flag flying from the porch:

Why is it you never see an American flag where you see a Vote No for the Mn #Marriage Amendment sign? #mngop twitter.com/SenatorDanHall...

-- Dan Hall (@SenatorDanHall) August 20, 2012

Criticism of Hall's suggestion was fast, furious, and spanned the gamut.

One reply came from retiring Rep. John Kriesel, R-Cottage Grove, the state's best-known pro-gay marriage conservative. Kriesel simply pointed out that Hall's suggestion is incorrect:

I have a flag in my yard. RT @senatordanhall: Why is it you never see an US flag where you see a Vote No for the Marriage Amendment sign?

-- John Kriesel (@johnkriesel) August 20, 2012

Other GOPers were offended:

@senatordanhall Wow... As a Dakota County Republican whose voting no, I'm kind of offended by the insinuation that I'm not patriotic.

-- Daniel Wolter (@DJWolter) August 20, 2012

While other responses were more colorful and suggested that Hall's tweet could help raise some bucks for Minnesotans United for All Families:

The ridiculous tweet from @senatordanhall reminded me to donate to @mn4allfamilies. Thanks douchebag!

-- kcmpls (@kcmpls) August 20, 2012

Later in the day, Hall started sending a standard reply to all the indignant folks contacting him:

@eventcloudpro Everyone seems touchy when I give them my observation. U read into it what U want, but no one is calling anyone unpatriotic.

-- Dan Hall (@SenatorDanHall) August 21, 2012

But that'd be easier to believe if Sen. Hall hadn't published a tweet just the day before that clearly drew a connection between being a flag-flaunting Republican and patriotism:

What's my first clue their #Republican. twitter.com/SenatorDanHall...

-- Dan Hall (@SenatorDanHall) August 18, 2012

Same-sex marriage is one thing, but we're also offended that one of our legislators still struggles with the distinction between "their" and "they're."