Last week, Fair Wisconsin, the campaign against the proposed ban on gay marriage and civil unions, unveiled its first ad profiling a real Wisconsin family that would be hurt if the proposal passes. The emotionally touching ad features the story of Lynn, Jean, their adopted daughter Katy and the tremendous adversity they faced when Jean was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
After 15 years together, Lynn and Jean decided to adopt Katy into their loving, stable home. Nine months later, Jean was diagnosed ovarian cancer. Because Lynn was not recognized as Jean's next of kin â_ legally, they were considered strangers â_"" their family faced extensive obstacles as Jean battled her illness.
Although Lynn and Jean spent a significant amount of money on lawyers to secure the few protections available to them, these protections fell far short of the over a thousand legal protections and benefits offered by marriage. Some of the protections offered by marriage include rights to hospital visits, medical decisions, funeral arrangements for a loved one, and shared pensions.
Lynn, however, had to worry about whether she would be able to visit Jean in the hospital and whether she could make critical, urgent medical decisions. They also faced difficulty in providing for Katy's future, as Lynn had no legal right to Jean's pension, and anything Jean could pass on to Lynn would be severely taxed because they were considered complete strangers in the eyes of the law. Lynn was even denied Jean's final medical report, and she had to have Jean's out-of-town relative sign for it.
If the ban on gay marriage and civil unions passes, not only would it legally reinforce the difficulties faced by Lynn and Jean, but it would also serve to amplify them. The ban would overturn even the most limited protections for couples like Lynn and Jean: powers of attorney, domestic partner benefits and bereavement privileges. And groups like the Wisconsin Medical Society, for example, oppose the ban because they are worried that it would also endanger rights as basic as hospital visitation and medical decision-making.
In Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm ordered domestic partnership benefits to be removed from contracts being negotiated for state employees after a similar ban was passed. Another group has sued the Ann Arbor school district for providing domestic partnership benefits to its employees, claiming these benefits violate their ban. Similar lawsuits have also been filed against Salt Lake City and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Proponents of the ban argue that it only defines marriage and does nothing to take rights away from unmarried couples. For example, Mike Prentiss, spokesperson for State Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, claims that the ban does not prevent laws from granting rights to same-sex and unmarried couples in the future.
In Michigan, however, the American Family Association, a group that supported Michigan's ban, has filed a lawsuit against Michigan State University over their same-sex domestic partnership benefits, arguing that the school is in violation of the amendment passed in 2004.
The proposed ban on gay marriage and civil unions is not an abstract piece of legislation defining marriage like its proponents claim. Rather, it affects real people and real families â_"" like Lynn, Jean, and Katy â_"" in truly significant ways. The ban would deny basic rights and protections to these families, making things for hundreds of Wisconsin families even more difficult than they were for Jean and Lynn.
This is about how we treat our friends, families, co-workers and neighbors throughout Wisconsin. Join us in protecting these families: vote no on Nov. 7.
For more information about Lynn and her family, visit: http://www.getthefactswi.com/
