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Written by Cory Liebmann
Apr 21, 2011
Last week the state of Delaware cleared a major hurdle toward becoming the seventh in the nation to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. The state’s legislature passed a bill by a 26-15 vote, followed by an eruption of applause. Delaware’s Democratic governor of two years says he’s looking forward to signing the bill into law.
Wisconsin is quickly moving in the opposite direction. This rapid descent is particularly troubling given that our state was the first to enact legislation protecting LGBT people from employment discrimination.
Wisconsin’s government was not only taken over by Republicans in November – it was taken over by right-wing extremists. Unfortunately their extremism includes an open hostility toward equality. Some legislators now in the majority have blatantly anti-gay voting records. They have voted against measures designed to discourage anti-gay bullying in schools and for measures to enshrine anti-gay bigotry into our Constitution. Even the newest members of the Republican majority have received top scores from anti-gay organizations because of their views.
Although he campaigned for governor on creating jobs, Scott Walker’s first 100 days have shown no real focus on that subject. But one thing he managed to include in his first 100 days was to fire the lawyers defending the state’s domestic partnership registry.
In coming months, we are likely to see additional attacks from Walker. For example, as he seeks to finance his tax cuts for the rich, many critical programs will face dramatic cuts and possible elimination. It’s hard not to assume that funding for AIDS and other programs of interest to the LGBT community will suffer under his ax.
On the other hand, governors of neighboring states are moving in the direction of fairness. In January, Pat Quinn, the new Democratic governor of Illinois, signed a bill legally recognizing the civil unions of gay couples in that state. Last week, Minnesota’s Mark Dayton became the first sitting governor of that state to attend OutFront Minnesota’s LGBT Lobby Day. “I stand with you,” he said during that event, going on to pledge support for full equality, which he described as consistent with “the founding principle of this country.”
Instead of envying our neighbors, LGBT Wisconsinites must channel their disapproval of Walker into deliberate action. While he cannot be recalled until January, at least eight of his state senators are the targets of current recall efforts. Visit recalltherepublican8.com to find out more about those efforts and to learn you can help them.
If at least three of the Republicans senators are replaced, it will go a long way toward slowing down Scott Walker’s radical agenda. If we are able to accomplish such an unprecedented feat, our action and determination just might earn Wisconsin the envy of our neighbors and of other fair-minded people across the nation.
