Why Archbishop Nienstedt had to come out in defense of marriage.

Just doing his job.
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"The bishops of the state have an obligation, by ordination, to be teachers,” the Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis told MPR's Tom Crann. “And we all know the state of marriage in our society today,” he continued, citing divorce rates of up to 50 percent, and recounting the exponential growth of fluid arrangements like cohabitation and unwed parenthood. “The state of marriage is not very healthy in our society.
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Archbishop Nienstedt indicated that attempts to redefine marriage contribute significantly to this already rapid breakdown of family structure throughout society. In such a perilous climate, he told MPR, it is especially urgent to affirm what marriage is –in his words, “a commitment for life, a life-giving commitment that is open to the procreation and the raising of children”-- and what it cannot be.
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He (...) described same-sex “marriage” as “a dangerous risk to society,” not only according to the dictates of Christian faith, but according to “what we call the natural law,” which “precedes any government.” 
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Rather than giving the name of “marriage” to virtually any kind of sexual arrangement, Archbishop Nienstedt argued, “government is meant to support marriage between a husband and a wife,” to provide social support for “the raising … and the protection of children.”
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The prelate likewise reaffirmed the Church's opposition not only to same-sex “marriages,” but also to divorce, which he described as a “risk to our society today.” Divorce is also regarded by the Catholic Church as a serious violation of the natural law.
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Asked whether the bishops' suggestion of a constitutional amendment defining marriage was strictly a “political statement,” Nienstedt said that in the context of the video it was simply an exercise of the bishops' authority to teach on matters of reason and faith.
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"We need to remind our people,” he said, describing the bishops' mission in mailing the video, “what it is we believe, why it is we believe what we believe, and thirdly, why it's so important.” - CNA
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My thoughts:
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The Archbishop is clearly exercising the duties of his office: teaching and guiding the faithful in faith and morals.  I'm pleased that he included divorce in the conversation - naturally he cannot cover every issue in one interview, but it might have been an opportune moment to remind everyone of Church teaching on contraception and acknowledging that some of his predecessors and brother bishops pretty much rejected Paul VI's Humane Vitae.  If the teaching of Paul VI had been heeded, we may not have come to the crisis point we find ourselves in today.
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For those who claim Nienstedt ought to have given the money for the cost of the DVD campaign to the poor or some other pressing social justice cause, let them not get too high and mighty in their protests...  Rich gay activists pour millions into pro-gay political causes - chief among the causes, to unseat conservative law-makers and promote same-sex marriage.