Wisconsin
In 2006, Wisconsin voters passed an anti-marriage and anti-relationship recognition constitutional amendment. State advocacy groups continue to work to overturn such discrimination and move towards true fairness and equality for Wisconsin's families.
FROM EVAN WOLFSON:
AUDIO: Evan Wolfson on Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio
April 11, 2007
Evan Wolfson joins Peter Donalds to discuss ongoing state cases involving marriage equality, and how the issue is playing out in the 2008 presidential campaign.
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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Fair Wisconsin
Fair Wisconsin is a statewide organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Fair Wisconsin: The Story Collection Project
Thousands of Wisconsin's lesbian and gay couples are affected every day by the denial of the legal protections of marriage. Fair Wisconsin is asking these couples to share their stories.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN WISCONSIN:
Your Community—Wisconsin
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Wisconsin Census Snapshot
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Wisconsin.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research
on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the
biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring
legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases
in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.
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NEWS:
Wisconsin School Employee Files Grievance Over Marriage Leave
An elementary school secretary in Sheboygan, WI, filed a grievance with the school district, arguing its refusal to give her two days' paid leave after her marriage to another woman is discrimination, The Sheboygan Press reported Friday.
'How can love ever be wrong?': Partners of 15 years to wed in Canada next month
When Judy Stock is offered the chance to kiss her bride in a few weeks, she's going for it. Under the Canadian sky she'll stand, hand-in-hand with Leigh Robert, ready to validate the union the two formed 15 years ago. But why Canada? The answer is simple: It's legal. Unable to wed lawfully in Wisconsin, the women plan to hold an additional ceremony in April at a Sheboygan County church. But they're not willing to let the state hold them back from a white wedding.
Non-gay ally sues over anti-gay marriage amendment in WI
WMTV15
September 26, 2007
The first lawsuit attacking the anti-gay marriage ban in Wisconsin was mostly dismissed by a Dane County judge Wednesday. The judge says the man cannot sue because he is not gay and has not been harmed by the amendment. "I think every citizen in the state has standing on this issue, including me," William McConkey said. "I was asked would I have done this if I didn't get have a gay daughter. Probably not. I'd still be outraged, but I wouldn't have put myself through this. But I'm fighting for my kid."
OPINION: Believing in the importance and the sanctity of marriage
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
August 31, 2007
I believe in the sanctity of marriage; in fact, it's a tradition I aspire to emulate. For me, marriage is more than just a word; it's the embodiment of an idea to which I am deeply loyal. Marriage sanctifies the love and commitment that form the basis of a strong, morally upright family. "Civil union," by contrast, is a sterile and relatively meaningless term. Those who support civil unions and oppose gay marriage, including nearly all of the Democratic presidential candidates, fail to understand that nobody views marriage in terms of government benefits.
DP benefits uncertain in WI budget vote
The Bay Area Reporter
June 28, 2007
An 8-8 vote on whether to pay for domestic partnership benefits for state employees set the stage in the Wisconsin legislature for a showdown divided strictly along party lines, with Democratic Governor Jim Doyle looking like the sole chance for the measure to survive the 2007-2008 budget negotiations.
Madison WI mulls protest against marriage discrimination in oaths of office
365Gay
January 15, 2007
City council officials will consider adding a line to the oaths of office taken by elected and appointed officials in Madison that states disagreement with an anti-gay amendment — even though the same oath says they will uphold both the Wisconsin and the US constitutions. Using the line disapproving of the amendment would be a matter of choice.
Same-sex couples struggle for legal protection
La Crosse Tribune
December 3, 2006
Since Wisconsin voted to write discrimination into their state constitution, many gay and lesbian couples feel the urgent need to try to protect their relationships as best they can with a series of legal steps.
Historic post-election results
Freedom to Marry Press Release
November 8, 2006
"Win or lose, we are involved in a steady campaign of engagement, based not on election cycles, but on patient and persistent conversations that give people the information they need, and the time required to absorb that information," said Evan Wolfson. "We are committed to engaging this conversation until we achieve an end to discrimination in all 50 states."
OPINION: Quaker statement on marriage equality
Lacrosse Tribune
October 20, 2006
On November's ballot, Wisconsin will vote on a constitutional ban on same-gender marriages. We of Religious Society of Friends believe the movement to isolate and scapegoat homosexuals, to promote hatred against them, and to impose in law one group's religious beliefs on us all, is blatantly immoral and contrary to Jesus' teachings.
OPINION: Walking in another's shoes, then vote 'no'
The Coulee News
October 19, 2006
Before you vote on this referendum item, please first ask yourself: "What if a child of mine, a sibling or another loved were to follow the unique, intrinsic compass with which each of us is born, and enter into a same-sex relationship with a partner for whom they care deeply?" Who among us has the right to judge such a person, much less reject them or discriminate against them?
Love and activism in WI
The Advocate
September 15, 2006
Wisconsin couple Richard Taylor and Ray Vahey were coming up on 50 years together when Taylor died in July. In their last year together they decided to finally come out to family and friends and joined a very public fight against a constitutional marriage exclusion amendment.
PODCAST: WI State Senator Mark Miller on civil rights and marriage
Forward Forum
July 29, 2006
Excerpts from an interview by John Quinlan on the public affairs radio program, Forward Forum, which aired on July 29, 2006 on WXXM, The Mic, 92.1 (www.themic921.com) in Madison, WI. State Senator Miller reflects on the parallels between laws that had historically prohibited interracial marriage and current prohibitions against marriage for same sex couples. He draws on his own experiences in the late 1960s, early in his marriage to Jo Oyama-Miller, his Japanese-American wife, when the young couple lived lived in Alabama—a state where it was still technically illegal for them to be married. The 13 minute clip also includes excerpts from a speech that then State Rep. delivered on the floor of the WI State Assembly March 4, 2004.
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Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Wisconsin.
Thousands of Wisconsin's lesbian and gay couples are affected every day by the denial of the legal protections of marriage. Fair Wisconsin is asking these couples to share their stories.
Wisconsin Public Radio
April 11, 2007
Evan Wolfson joins Peter Donalds to discuss ongoing state cases involving marriage equality, and how the issue is playing out in the 2008 presidential campaign.
