As a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution banning same-sex unions continues to gain steam, Democratic state legislators introduced a bill Wednesday that seeks to legalize gay marriage.
The new legislation, introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, would redefine marriage by altering the current definition as a union between husband and wife and replacing those terms with the word “spouse.”
“The right to marry in Wisconsin is long overdue for many committed couples in our state. I believe this wrong. This bill goes a long way towards increasing the civil rights of our state’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community,” Risser said in a release.
However, opponents to legalizing gay unions claim marriage for homosexuals is not an ensured civil right.
“Allowing people of the same sex to legally marry in Wisconsin is not equality; it’s an attempt of a small but vocal minority to have special rights, not equal rights,” Julaine Appling, executive director of The Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, said in a release.
The new bill began circulating one day after 45 Republicans and one Democrat signed a proposal to adopt a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in the state. Although the amendment would not prohibit gay couples from receiving government benefits, it would define marriage as solely between one man and one woman.
Supporters of gay marriage claim an amendment to bar same-sex unions is both discriminatory and a reflection of the radical, religious right.
“The bottom line is that it is discrimination of a group of people based on some aspect of their identity,” Kevin Otten, public-relations specialist at the LGBT campus center, said. “I think a lot of the motivation behind it…is based on a particular, very radical, conservative, religious ideology.”
Republican authors of the amendment to ban gay marriage claim defining marriage clearly as a heterosexual union is necessary to prevent Wisconsin court decisions similar to the Massachusetts ruling mandating the state allow gay marriage.
“There is nothing in our state constitution that would protect against activist judges doing the same thing here. With just one or two Doyle appointments to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Massachusetts decision will be the Wisconsin decision within just a few years,” Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, the lead senate author of the resolution, said in a release.
Both of the opposing bills face a tough road ahead if they hope to gain passage.
Although a recent Badger Poll found that 64 percent of Wisconsin residents support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, the Assembly failed in November to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
To raise awareness about same-sex marriage and to celebrate Freedom to Marry Week, same-sex couples from across the state plan to apply for marriage licenses Thursday. Action Wisconsin, a group supporting gay marriage, also plans to hold a forum on civil-marriage rights at the Orpheum Theater Thursday from 7-9 p.m.
