In honor of their last pre-election meeting, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke to the Students for a Fair Wisconsin Tuesday about the proposed constitutional marriage amendment appearing on the upcoming November ballot.

Eli Judge, a University of Wisconsin sophomore and chair of Students for a Fair Wisconsin, said the group started at the beginning of last year and has been working hard to convey the importance of a "No" vote on the marriage amendment ever since.

"That amendment is just wrong," Cieslewicz said. "Morally wrong, intellectually wrong — it's wrong in every way."

In addition to any moral implications, Cieslewicz said if the amendment passes it would have a detrimental effect on the state's economy. Especially in Madison, he added, where there is "full employment" and a near labor shortage, keeping people in the city is crucial.

Cieslewicz also said passage of the amendment would put out an "unwelcome mat" not only in Madison, but throughout all of Wisconsin.

"I can't emphasize how important this is enough," he said. "We can't tell anyone they are unwelcome."

But if the referendum does not pass, Cieslewicz said Wisconsin would lead the rest of the nation to take proper action for the marriage amendment. He added the only other states that have a chance to prevent the amendment from passing are South Dakota and Virginia.

The mayor also said the vote is especially important for students because there is such a discrepancy on the issue between generations. According to Cieslewicz, when people who are now in their twenties take positions in government, these amendments will get repealed.

He also said this would be the first time the government uses the Constitution to contract rights from the people.

"We know [the marriage amendment] is a generational thing, and we know your generation really doesn't understand why this is coming down in the first place, and you will change it once you're running America," Cieslewicz said. "But wouldn't it be great if we could start turning it around before that so you don't have to work on this and you can actually start expanding rights?"

Yet University of Wisconsin sophomore Brad Ihrcke said no matter how strongly Cieslewicz feels about the marriage ban, it is not appropriate for the mayor to express his political views publicly. Even if a majority of people agrees with his views, he added, he is supposed to represent all of Madison.

"It's not right for the mayor to take a political stance on issues," Ihrcke said. "The second [the mayor] gets elected, he represents the wishes and wants of the people of Madison — he represents the city."

With the election quickly approaching, Andy Gordon, campus coordinator for Students for a Fair Wisconsin, said it is crucial for the student population to go to the polls and vote anyway, but especially on this issue.

The group, he added, has a chance to make history both at the university and across the nation.

"We have 337 hours to really convince voters to get out to the polls," Gordon said. "We know our message is resonated on campus, and we know it is generational, but we need your help to do it."

Cieslewicz concluded by pointing out that Wisconsin leads the nation in progressive legislation and saying the marriage amendment should be no different. The students alone, he added, have the chance to create new opportunities and encourage a good economy.

"I think we're going to start pushing the pendulum back the other way," Cieslewicz said. "Wouldn't it be great if Wisconsin was the first state to say 'No?'"