A constitutional amendment repealing Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage will come before the Wisconsin state Legislature later this year, state Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee and state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee, announced in a press conference Thursday.
The announcement comes months after the Marquette University Law School released a poll in October 2013 that found 53 percent of Wisconsin residents support marriage equality for same-sex couples.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said in an email he is “proud to stand in solidarity” with his colleagues as they work to “protect the rights of all of Wisconsin’s families.”
“The gay and lesbian citizens of Wisconsin deserve the rights and freedoms that come from true marriage equality,” Pocan said. “I look forward to the day—in the near future—when Wisconsin joins its neighbors in ensuring true equality for all residents of our state.”
Carpenter and Zamarripa are the only openly gay legislators in the Wisconsin state Legislature. Carpenter compared the opposition to gay marriage to the opposition of interracial marriage.
“Just in my lifetime, we had state laws that prohibited [interracial] marriages,” Sen. Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, said. “We look back at that and see how foolish people were.”
Zamarripa also reflected on the day same-sex marriage was banned in Wisconsin in 2006.
“I still remember crying myself to sleep that night and promising myself that I would always continue to advocate for marriage equality,” Zamarripa said.
Longtime Madison residents Liz Dannenbaum and Donna Winter also spoke at the conference to represent Wisconsinites affected by the ban. Dannenbaum, a retired librarian, and Winter, a retired police detective, have been in a relationship for 16 years. The pair said they would like the state to recognize the rights and benefits committed couples deserve.
“I used to love living in Wisconsin, but I don’t feel as welcome anymore,” Dannenbaum said.
Carpenter said Winter and Dannenbaum could face legal action, including a $10,000 fine and up to nine months in prison for marrying in another state and returning to Wisconsin.
“This is the U.S., not Putin’s Russia,” Carpenter said. “This is the U.S., where we protect everybody.”
All 15 Democratic senators have signed as coauthors on the bill, but have yet to receive any Republican support.
“I know there are Republicans that do support it quietly,” state Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, said. “I’m hopeful, I’m just not sure.”
“I believe that every opportunity that we can get to educate Wisconsinites about our LGBT families here, about the importance of equality, is a victory,” Zamarripa said.
The amendment must be passed in both houses and ratified in a statewide referendum before the ban can be repealed.
