Defeat the Gay Marriage Amendment

"I urge you to vote with me to defeat the proposed gay marriage amendment to our state's constitution. The amendment language is seen by legal experts as a threat not just to gay marriage but also to existing heterosexual domestic partner benefits and civil unions.

"A referendum on the amendment will appear on the general election ballot this November. The referendum language asks voters whether the constitution should '…provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.'

"In recent years, some 18 states have passed versions of constitutional amendments banning gays from marrying. The national Republican party began its push to ban gay marriage in a coordinated effort widely seen as an electoral wedge issue that will help elect Republicans to state and federal office.

"The marriage amendment takes aim at all Wisconsin citizens. Leadership and courage means standing up for the rights of our citizens, and never remaining silent in the face of attacks on equality, fairness and respect for our fellow citizens.

"Senator Herb Kohl has been silent about the proposed gay marriage amendment. I call on Senator Kohl to stand with me and join Wisconsin citizens of all faiths and political parties who have denounced this crude attempt to enshrine bigotry and inequality into our state constitution. Wisconsin has a long, proud history of fighting for equality for all citizens and this hateful, Karl Rove/George Bush scheme to divide us should be challenged by all Wisconsin elected officials.

"Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, independents, you name it have condemned this radical assault on our fellow citizens. Why Senator Kohl wishes to stand with a small band of radical Republicans and hate mongers is mystifying."

I support a fair United States

Defeating the gay marriage amendment will be a tremendous victory, but it will not end discrimination against the LBGT community. In the name of full equality for all citizens of the U.S., my campaign works to:

• End discrimination against the LGBT community. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting gay and lesbian employees from discrimination. Only five states also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. In the rest of the country, employees fired for being gay have no legal recourse unless they work in a locality with its own anti-discrimination ordinance. The federal government should strengthen civil rights laws to protect lesbians and gay men from discrimination in areas such as employment, public accommodations, housing, credit, union practices and education.
• Extend domestic partnership rights. Domestic partner benefits, as they are widely known, are becoming an established part of the fabric of the American work place. The federal government must ensure that lesbian and gay workers receive equal benefits for equal work.
• Support the right to marry for same-sex couples. Denying equal access to marriage deprives LGBT people of critical rights, protections and responsibilities and violates our nation's fundamental guarantee of equality for everyone.
• Support rights for LGBT families. Lesbian and gay families are commonly denied legal protections that non-gay families take for granted such as adoption, custody, guardianship, and inheritance. Government should expand protections for LGBT families and defend gay parents whose relationships with their children are threatened because of homophobia.
• Support LGBT youth in the schools. Schools are pressured to prohibit any gay-positive messages to young people, even while anti-gay violence against students is widespread. The government should protect free speech in schools and support pro-gay students and teachers who are the targets of harassment and violence.
• Stop public funding of religious organizations. Increased efforts to shift public funding for social services to religious organizations -- without safeguards to prevent discrimination in employment or services -- pose great dangers to LGBT people and amount to tax-payer funded discrimination.
• End discrimination in the military. The military continues to impose discriminatory policies against lesbians and gay men. Lesbian and gay service members have a constitutional right to be judged by the same standards as all others.
• Support immigration and asylum. Ensure enforcement of U.S. policy that grants asylum to those who reasonably fear persecution based on sexual orientation in their home countries.