Posted on 07/11/2005 7:30:28 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
With 16 months to go before an expected vote on a state constitutional ban on gay marriage, groups on both sides of the issue are gearing up for a major fight.
Action Wisconsin, a statewide advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, has joined forces with the Milwaukee-based Center Advocates to mount a statewide advocacy campaign aimed at defeating the proposal, which will likely be placed on the November 2006 ballot.
Leading the charge in support of the proposal is the Wisconsin Coalition for Traditional Marriage, a nonprofit, volunteer group that is coordinated by Julaine Appling, executive director of the Family Research Institute, a Madison-based group that is also championing the ban.
Both sides expect a large turnout for the vote since several high-profile races will also be on the ballot that November, including the re-election battles of Gov. Jim Doyle, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, all state Assembly representatives and half the state Senate.
Both sides say they can win, though neither will reveal how much they plan to spend to achieve victory.
A bellwether state?
Appling, like other ban proponents, says they have been forced to support such amendments so states can protect themselves from court rulings that, as in Massachusetts, grant legal protection to same-sex marriages.
In November, 11 states passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.
Gay rights activists point out, however, that 15 state legislatures defeated such measures, preventing a vote at the polls.
A total of 17 states now have amendments that ban marriage and, in some cases, legal protections for unmarried couples, said Joshua Freker, communications director for Action Wisconsin.
Similar amendments have been scheduled for a vote in five other states; five more have a vote pending in their state legislatures, according to Stateline.org, an online news service.
Nationally, Wisconsin is considered a bellwether state because ban opponents here will have considerable lead time to mount an aggressive campaign to stop the amendment.
Other states have rushed such amendments to the ballot, but Wisconsin law requires that proposed constitutional amendments win legislative approval twice before winning a place on the ballot.
On Wednesday, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian organization, announced it was giving Action Wisconsin a $50,000 matching gift to boost the group's campaign against the ban.
"Discrimination doesn't belong in any constitution and the Human Rights Campaign is committed to helping Wisconsin become one of the first states in the nation to reject a constitutional ban on legal protections for gay couples," Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign President, said in a news release.
Coming out
The campaign against the ban will be a coming out of sorts for Action Wisconsin, which has grown over the last decade from an all-volunteer organization with a budget of $4,000 to Wisconsin's premier advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual issues. The group now employs nine full- and part-time workers and has an operating budget of $500,000.
Also on Wednesday, the Brico Fund, a Milwaukee-based foundation, announced it was giving $75,000 to Action Wisconsin and Center Advocates for their anti-ban efforts.
The two groups will use the donated funds to hire a joint campaign manager and fundraiser and to build a data system to manage voter information.
Action Wisconsin is also poised to substantially beef up its own staff over the next three or four months as its campaign against the ban accelerates. The group plans to hire an outreach coordinator for its speakers network, a communications associate, a canvass coordinator and development associate.
Appling said the Wisconsin Coalition for Traditional Marriage, which was formed last year as a nonprofit educational group, is largely made up of individuals, many of whom represent other groups, especially faith-based organizations.
She said the group plans to implement "massive education efforts" in support of the proposed ban. Appling said the group has already secured about $20,000 to cover the mailing of around 500,000 brochures around the state.
Appling said the coalition is also planning to place print and radio ads and, as money allows, television ads.
She said she doesn't expect national interest groups to step in and help the coalition's fundraising efforts but anticipates local residents will rise to the occasion.
"There are people in Wisconsin who believe in this issue and will step forward," Appling said.
The Family Research Institute will continue circulating a petition against the ban and dropping literature at homes around the state, she added.
Appling said the group is also putting together a DVD to help educate people and church groups on the issue.
The Coalition has not hired any staff for its pro-ban campaign, but the Family Research Institute has added two employees - and is in the process of hiring a third - to work specifically on the constitutional amendment.
Appling said she hesitated to characterize the political landscape around the issue as a battleground, but she acknowledged its divisive nature.
"The forces are obviously drawing lines," she said.
The Wisconsin legislature has approved the proposed ban once, in March 2004, and would need to pass it again before the end of the legislative session next June.
Freker said Action Wisconsin has already implemented an active speakers bureau all over the state, training individuals to speak to groups about the ban and its negative effects.
Christopher Ott, executive director of Action Wisconsin, said the group will work hard to make clear that the marriage ban would jeopardize domestic partnership benefits in the state as well as ban same-sex marriage, something proponents, including Appling, deny.
Freker said Action Wisconsin is already working closely with the faith community and noted that three Lutheran synods, representing more than 250,000 churchgoers, have taken a position against the proposed ban.
Freker said such victories suggest that Wisconsin could defeat the proposed ban next year.
"There is nothing like that in any other state fighting these measures," he said.
I've never, ever done an "activist" like thing in my entire life, other than working for various conserative campaigns over the years which I consider my Civic Duty.
I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting in on this one. Enough is enough.
This ones a no-brainer...they aren't gonna win.
Does anyone Really think this will fail in Wisconsin? I'd be surprised if it got under 60%.
Wouldn't want the People voting on things. I want men who wear thousand-dollar Italian suits and ride in "livery" to represent my concerns...
The ultimate goal of the left is to make gayness a civil rights issue and have The Bible either banned or edited for anti-gay verses. Can you imagine all the Bible confiscations and illegal unedited Bibles? Can you imagine Barney Frank as the court-ordered gay czar? It is easy to see why the liberals need the courts to achieve their political agenda, the voting people would never stand for it.
It would be sweet to topple Kohl ...
Aint it the truth
You have my admiration for posting these WI stories. Don't know how you make it thru the lefty rags. Far more patient than I.
Any insights as to the Brico Fund? Never heard of them.
Thanks for the posts, and your service.
The Brico Fund is the former Lynde B. Uihlein Foundation.
This article makes it sound like the ban has a chance of failing. Makes me want to donate money, time and energy toward getting it passed.
You're welcome! Wisconsin is a beautiful state with so much to offer it's citizens.
I post these stories so the rest of the country sees what we're up against and what can happen to a state when Liberals are the seat of your State Government.
Conservatives shall eventually prevail; we've slowed the socialist damage significantly and we're getting better at that. :)
That said conservatives shouldn't become complacent, because the marxists on the shores of Lake Mendota and their lackeys in the media will do everything to try to pass this.
The Gay agenda is made up of rich, spoiled, white perverts. By attempting to deny an Up or Down Vote on gay marriage by the people, the gays are disenfranchising the voting rights of minorities, who will vote for banning gay marriage. Minorities lose when gays gain power.
pretty baised article. a free ads for the homosexual lobby.
I love the contention that WI is a bell-weather.
Even in Hawaii, that is left-wing Hawaii 70% of the people voted to ban gay marriage
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