Green Bay City Council Postpones Anti-Gay Measure Indefinitely

Last night the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community witnessed a victory in Green Bay. The Green Bay City Council voted 9-2 to postpone indefinitely a resolution brought by Alderman Shae Sortwell to join Wisconsin Family Action's lawsuit challenging the statewide domestic partnership registry.

In an act of bullying and retribution, Sortwell's resolution emerged following a request made for domestic partner health care coverage by David Fowles, a City of Green Bay Department of Public Works employee.

Fair Wisconsin refuses to allow Sortwell to bully brave LGBT people who dare to stand up for basic protections. The work we did to inform and rally our Green Bay supporters resulted in approximately 100 people attending to register their opposition and speak out against Sortwell’s discriminatory measure.

"We are pleased that the City Council saw fit to postpone this unfortunate and ill-advised resolution," commented Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger.  “The outpouring of opposition to this measure was overwhelming and we were proud to stand with so many LGBT and allied residents of Green Bay to stop this attempt to strip basic protections from caring and committed same-sex couples.”

By postponing the resolution indefinitely, the City Council took no formal action on the measure and it can be brought forward again.  Fair Wisconsin will continue to monitor the situation in Green Bay and is prepared to continue opposing further measures by Sortwell and others like him that bully and discriminate against LGBT people.

Our very own Sarah Palin

Here is an excerpt from an email that Katie Belanger, Executive Director of Fair Wisconsin, sent to our membership this morning:

"Less than one month ago, anti-fairness gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker got an ultra-conservative shot in the arm when Rebecca Kleefisch was nominated as his running mate.
We know Walker has already pledged to repeal the landmark domestic partnership protections enacted just over a year ago, and we know Kleefisch agrees. But the ultra-conservative anti-fairness former TV news anchor didn't stop there. Here is Rebecca Kleefisch in her own words:

"At what point are we going to ok marrying inanimate objects? Can I marry [a] table or [a] clock? Can we marry dogs? This is ridiculous!"

That's the kind of statement I expect from national ultra-conservative leaders like Sarah Palin. Not sensible and decent Wisconsinites. We simply cannot allow our next Lieutenant Governor to be someone who likens the value of relationships between caring and committed same-sex couples to tables and clocks. One thing is for sure, the last thing we need is our very own Sarah Palin in Madison.

There is a lot at stake this year. The talking heads are all saying that the progressive base isn't energized and progressive candidates are in trouble. Let's prove them wrong. Let's show them that if supporters of equality will not back down in our quest for fairness.
We know that the passage of domestic partner protections means Wisconsin is back on the right track. It seems like every day we hear news of more and more people supporting equality (Welcome, Governor Crist!). Still, anti-fairness candidates around the state think they can get ahead by demonizing the LGBT community. Let's show them that we will not allow their distortions and discrimination to prevail."

There's only four weeks left before the November elections.  Help us show that Wisconsinites don't support extreme views like Rebecca Kleefisch's by making a special contribution to Fair Wisconsin today.

Fair Wisconsin PAC Endorses Jon Richards

Incumbent for the 19th Assembly District is a champion for equality.

“Representative Jon Richards has been a leader in the quest for equality," stated Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger. "His unwavering commitment and vocal representation of the Milwaukee LGBT community has been commendable and we are proud to stand with him in his re-election this fall."

Increasing Fair Wisconsin's voice in Milwaukee, the Fair Wisconsin PAC recently joined forces with the Human Rights League PAC. Together they work to elect pro-fairness individuals in local, state legislative and gubernatorial races to advance, achieve and protect the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Wisconsinites.

Lambda Legal Seeks to Intervene on Behalf of Fair Wisconsin to Save Legal Protections for Same-Sex Couples and Their Families

15,000 Wisconsin Same-Sex Couples Need Domestic Partnership Law for Times of Illness and Crisis

(Madison, Wisconsin October 1, 2010) - In court papers filed today, Lambda Legal is seeking to intervene on behalf of Fair Wisconsin and five same-sex couples in a lawsuit brought by an antigay group attempting to strip away critical domestic partnership protections for same-sex couples and their families. 

"This is the second time that Wisconsin Family Action has asked a court to deny the basic protections of domestic partnerships to nearly 15,000 same-sex Wisconsin couples and their families," said Christopher Clark, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office in Chicago. "It is absurd to suggest that the limited protections provided to domestic partners are equivalent to the multitude of legal protections enjoyed by married couples.  Wisconsin Family Action should stop wasting the taxpayers' money on frivolous lawsuits. The domestic partnership law and the constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from marriage are not in conflict with each other."
"We look forward to our day in court so that Fair Wisconsin, its members and our defendant couples can describe how important the legal protections provided by domestic partnerships are for protecting their families in times of illness and crisis," added Clark. 

"More than 1500 same-sex couples across the state of Wisconsin are now enjoying some of the most critical protections all couples need to care for each other," said Katie Belanger, Executive Director of Fair Wisconsin.  "With the passage of domestic partnerships, Wisconsin has taken an important step in advancing equality for gays and lesbians and we are proud to stand with Lambda Legal in defending these critical protections.  This isn't about being gay or straight - it's about being decent."

Last year, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed domestic partnerships into law. Domestic partnerships grant limited, but important legal protections to same-sex couples, including hospital visitation and the ability to take a family medical leave to care for a sick or injured partner.

Wisconsin Family Action, an antigay group, filed a lawsuit against the state in 2009 arguing that the domestic partnership law is a violation of the antigay constitutional amendment barring marriage equality and recognition of any legal status that is "substantially similar" to marriage that was passed in 2006. After the State Attorney General announced that his office would not defend the state against the claim, Governor Doyle appointed special counsel to represent the state. Lambda Legal intervened in that matter, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately rejected the case. On August 18, 2010, Wisconsin Family Action and the Alliance Defense Fund filed a new challenge to Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry in the Dane County Circuit Court. 

David Kopitze and Paul Klawiter, who have been together for nearly 40 years, are worried about what losing these basic protections might mean for their family. Said Kopitze, "The domestic partnership registry is the only way we can secure some fundamental legal protections.  Paul and I just want to make sure that we can visit each other in the hospital and take care of each other as we grow older." 

ACLU also filed court papers today to intervene in the Appling v. Doyle case on behalf of five same-sex couples. Like Lambda Legal, ACLU says domestic partnerships and marriages are not "substantially similar."

John and Michael celebrate first anniversary as domestic partners

It is difficult to believe that a year ago today, my husband John and I were hurrying across town to the Brown County Courthouse.  Our excitement was palpable:  we were going to become the first same-sex couple to register as domestic partners in the history of Brown County.  With the other couples who were waiting expectantly outside county clerk offices that day, we were taking a small (when measured by number of legal protections) but important step forward.

This wasn't the first time we had declared our commitment to each other.  Three years earlier, in March 2006, we had been married in Toronto, surrounded by our closest family and friends.  Returning to Wisconsin that spring, we found ourselves face-to-face with an anti-marriage equality campaign that threatened to prevent us achieving full equality in this state.  Hardly the welcome home we had anticipated.

Under the direction of Fair Wisconsin, side-by-side with thousands of LGBT and allied Wisconsinites, John and I canvassed door-to-door, made endless phone calls to voters, persuaded everyone we could.  Ultimately, we failed to prevent the discriminatory marriage ban, a devastating defeat to us and to all the people who had worked so hard to preserve fairness in Wisconsin.  A terrible conclusion to a year which had dawned so brightly, as we began our lives together.

When, less than three years after the marriage ban, Governor Doyle announced domestic partnership protections as part of the state budget, John and I found a reason to hope that our hard work in 2006 had not been in vain.  We rallied to Fair Wisconsin's call to share our story, and a month later, John was addressing the Joint Finance Committee at the budget hearing in West Allis.  He spoke about the fear we face each day, the devastating possibilities of one of us being incapacitated and the other legally unable to make critical decisions.  Three months later, our pro-fairness Governor signed domestic partnerships into law.

As we waited at the Brown County Courthouse last August 3rd, impatient to declare our commitment to each other here in the State of Wisconsin, we certainly took a moment to reflect how far we've come, how far we have to go.  Domestic partnerships are not full equality.  But John and I have some measure of security.  The comfort of knowing one of us will not be turned away from the other's hospital bedside, that if something should happen to one of us, the other has survivor protections under the law.  We are better able to care for each other than we were previously.  And that is certainly something to celebrate.

- Michael Knaapen (Milwaukee)

Fair Wisconsin celebrates the one year anniversary of domestic partnership protections

One year ago today, Wisconsin took an important step toward equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as couples across the state began registering as domestic partners.

“Today we celebrate the anniversary of a historic achievement for Wisconsin’s 15,000 same-sex couples,” stated Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger. “We are very grateful for the exceptional leadership of Governor Doyle, the Co-Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee Rep. Mark Pocan and Sen. Mark Miller, and the many state legislators who worked tirelessly to achieve this landmark victory. They know that the government shouldn’t stand in the way of someone being able to care for their long-term partner.”

Over 1,500 same-sex couples across the state have registered as domestic partners and are enjoying the limited legal protections that domestic partnerships provide, such as hospital visitation and family medical leave to care for a sick or injured partner.

“Although domestic partnerships fall short of full equality, they mark an important shift in the direction of our state,” Belanger continued. “Wisconsin has resumed its rightful place at the forefront of the quest for fairness.”

Domestic partnerships mark the first pro-fairness advance for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community since Wisconsin became the first state in the country in 1982 to include sexual orientation in our nondiscrimination laws. The passage of domestic partnerships also makes Wisconsin the first state in the Midwest to protect same-sex couples via legislation and the first state in the country with a broad constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and civil unions to enact domestic partnerships.

Wisconsin Stands up for Marriage Equality

On Tuesday, nearly 500 people joined Fair Wisconsin in Madison to stand up to the National Organization for marriage and share one important message--- all committed, loving couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be allowed to marry.

While yesterday fair minded Wisconsinites were able to to show NOM that their hateful and discriminatory messages are not welcome in our state, there is still important work to be done. NOM's actions are becoming increasingly hateful. On Monday, a NOM supporter in Indianapolis event said that gay people should "be put to death" as described in Leviticus 20:13. Join Fair Wisconsin, and the national organization Freedom to Marry, to call on NOM to end these attacks on LGBT individuals and their families for good.

Click here to sign the petition to tell NOM to stop these attacks on LGBT individuals and families.

To see pictures of the March for Marriage Equality, click here.

What equality means to us

This is a guest blog post from Fox Valley Fair Wisconsin advocate Kathy Flores.

I am appalled that the National Organization for Marriage is coming to Madison on their "Summer for Marriage" tour.  It is an irrational fear for them to believe that my partner Ann and I are a threat to any heterosexual marriage as we live our lives peacefully and lovingly care for each other.  We want no "special treatment," only the legal protections that should be available to all committed couples.

Ann and I have had our fair share of medical worries in our years together, but nothing could have prepared us for the last year and a half.  In this time, I experienced a pulmonary embolism that would have killed me if not detected, followed by thyroid cancer just months later.  On July 6th of this year, I underwent surgery at UW Hospital in Madison to repair a cerebral aneurysm.  Ann was in the company of other partners as they all waited for word on the condition of their loved ones.  She was told that my surgery would be three or four hours, but instead found herself waiting eight hours to find out that I had come through this well and was in recovery.

I challenge anyone to tell me or Ann that the love and concern she sat with for eight hours is not equal to the love of any heterosexual couple in the same situation.  And Ann's work was not done yet.  She spent nights with me in the hospital while I was sick and weak from blood thinners.  She continued to care for me at home, cooking my meals, cleaning our house and providing support and encouragement as I recovered.  In the days since the surgery, my Multiple Sclerosis kicked into overdrive, and I suffered severe vision loss in one of my eyes.  Again, my loving partner Ann was there to hold my hand through this.

This is just one small snapshot of our life together.  Ann works for a large nonprofit organization, and I work for city government.  We contribute to our community in meaningful ways.  We pay taxes, attend church, are good neighbors and hard-working citizens being treated unfairly, without equal protections under the law.

I believe Fair Wisconsin is responding as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did when he peacefully spoke against injustice.  He reminded us then (and it rings true today):  "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  He wrote this from Birmingham Jail at a time when people believed African Americans did not deserve the same legal protections as white people.  We face a similar struggle today.  There are those within the National Organization for Marriage who would emulate those who opposed Dr. Martin Luther King by denying the most basic protections to their fellow Americans.

The tide is turning.  Ultimately, I am confident love will prevail.

- Kathy Flores, Appleton

Thanks, Kathy, for taking the time to share this powerful story with us.  We encourage all of our friends and advocates throughout the Badger State to tell us what equality means to you!

Anti-gay group to rally in Madison

On Tuesday, July 27, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will descend upon Madison as part of their nationwide "Summer for Marriage" tour.  NOM is the extremist, anti-gay group behind the Prop 8 campaign in California.

We cannot allow the distractions, distortions, and discriminatory agenda of groups like NOM to go unanswered.  Fair Wisconsin, along with many other fair-minded organizations from around the state, is organizing a march that will begin in Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus at 11:00am before heading up Street Street and finally ending in front of the State Capitol building.

The event will show NOM, and other organizations like it, that we stand united for equality. From the passage of domestic partnerships to the growing support for repealing our discriminatory constitutional amendment, Wisconsin is moving in the right direction and we won't take another step back.

We need you, and other fair-minded Wisconsinites to join us on July 27 as we stand together for marriage equality.  For more information about the event, click here.

Fair Wisconsin PAC & Human Rights League PAC Announce Endorsements!

Fair Wisconsin PAC and Human Rights League PAC are excited to announce our joint 2010 fall election endorsements. Fair Wisconsin PAC and Human Rights League PAC (HRL-PAC) are committed to advancing and achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Wisconsinites through strategic electoral activity.

Both Fair Wisconsin PAC and Human Rights League PAC believe that by maintaining and expanding pro-fairness majorities in the state legislature, Wisconsin can continue taking important strides towards equality.

Click here for a complete list of candidate endorsements!