The UW-Madison University Committee, the executive committee of the UW-Madison Faculty Senate, took an official public stance in opposition to the proposed state amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions in a release issued Wednesday. The Faculty Senate has representatives from every UW-Madison department and division.
According to the release, ""This amendment has and will continue to inhibit the recruitment and retention of the highest quality faculty and staff at the university.""
Many local groups in recent weeks have publicly opposed the amendment, including the Dane County Board, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, the UW System Board of Regents and Associated Students of Madison.
At the core of the opposition is the fact that UW-Madison is the only Big Ten university that does not offer domestic partner benefits, creating a competitive disadvantage in comparison to other schools.
Regent Charles Pruitt explained that the basis of the Regents' opposition rested on the second sentence of the proposed amendment, which may outlaw domestic partner benefits completely.
It states ""A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.""
""If it had been just a one-sentence amendment related to gay marriage, we likely would not have taken a position,"" Pruitt said.
Regent President David Walsh said Madison and surrounding areas are sensitive to the issue.
""I think this is considered one of the more liberal geographic areas—you know the joke about Madison—40 square miles surrounded by reality,"" Walsh said. ""The issue of domestic benefits is very important to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This is an institution with 18,000 employees and 40,000 students, and that has a big impact on the surrounding communities.""
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said he does not think state voters will look to UW stances for voting advice unless university issues affect them, such as domestic partner benefits.
He also emphasized that the Chamber of Commerce opposed the amendment because recruiting workers for a city that may be seen as unfriendly to gay couples would prove difficult.
""I think those are examples of pretty much the margin that has affected public opinion,"" Franklin said of the university and local opposition. ""It's easy if you're opposed to gay marriage to easily dismiss it as examples of the [Madison] bastion of liberalism.""
Franklin said he would be more surprised if Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce opposed the amendment, a group he said probably would not typically be ideologically against the ban.
""That would certainly be a strong signal because they would be making the position that this is actually hurting their business,"" he said. ""Whereas the UW faculty or ASM come out opposed to the amendment—that simply plays into their ideology.""
