Wisconsin citizens will vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions this November, following Tuesday night's 62-31 vote of approval in the state Assembly.
Passage of Assembly Joint Resolution 67 may put Wisconsin on track to become the 20th state to adopt such changes.
Along with other Democrats, state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, voiced his opposition to AJR 67 in Tuesday's Assembly session.
'This amendment is about discrimination,' Pocan said. 'We will vote today and move this state into a more just or less just Wisconsin.'
According to a statement from state Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin, Assembly author of the amendment, the second sentence makes any marriage-like statuses illegal, including civil unions, in order to protect the institution of marriage.
State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, proposed an amendment to eliminate AJR 67's second sentence, because he said it would be unclear to the voters and leave ambiguity in the constitution.
'It's my job as an elected official to make sure that our laws are understandable and uniform, and we do not create problems by our actions here,' he said.
State Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, said the amendment 'doesn't just ban same-sex marriage, it eliminates existing legal protections for all domestic partners.'
Several Democrats referenced past discriminatory cases in U.S. history in their testimonies, including state Rep. David Travis, D-Waunakee. Travis mentioned civil rights and women's rights from previous decades as being similar to gay rights today.
'This would be the first time in Wisconsin history or American history that the constitution would be amended to allow discrimination,' he said.
Gundrum yielded several questions from Assembly members, including questions about gay marriage laws in other states, the sanctity of marriage and the views of Wisconsin citizens.
'The voters have indicated that they want to vote on this now, and don't want to wait until a court decides this for them,' Gundrum said. 'Across the country it has been approved by 70 percent of voters, and I expect it to be the same in Wisconsin.'
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he believes the voters of Wisconsin will reject the amendment on the Nov. 7 ballot, according to a statement.
State Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, sided with Democrats in opposition to the amendment. He questioned the motives of Republican legislators and stressed the importance of protecting all citizens under the constitution.
'What we're doing today will change the nature of the constitution we have written,' he said. 'This moves us from protecting people from their government to disenfranchising people.'
