Wisconsin Gay News From Quest

Quest Newsroom Updated September 12, 2006 Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick
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National ACLU's Eagen: "Fair Wisconsin Getting It Right" New York City - A Public Education Associate from the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised Fair Wisconsin's efforts to defeat the proposed civil union and marriage ban. In a letter sent to newspaper and broadcast media reporters and editors across the country, ACLU's Eric Eagan encouraged greater coverage of the Fair Wisconsin effort to defeat the ban. Eagan began by reviewing the recent series of setbacks the LGBT community has seen in court cases across the country. "This summer has seen a string of news across the country regarding marriage recognition for same-sex couples," Eagan wrote. "High courts in New York and Washington have ruled that those states can continue to bar same-sex couples and their families from the protections of marriage based on current state law. In Nebraska, Tennessee and Georgia, challenges to the constitutionality of ballot initiatives restricting marriage to heterosexual couples have failed in the courts. Our opponents in the fight for marriage protections have pointed to this series of bad decisions as evidence that the movement for marriage for same-sex couples is dead." Eagan then pointed to the Wisconsin battle. "Not so fast, says Fair Wisconsin, an organization that is poised to potentially defeat a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions," Eagan continued. "While the fight for marriage in other states has encountered obstacles, Fair Wisconsin is waging an aggressive campaign to change public opinion, and is succeeding by taking its message of fairness to the people." Eagen then posed the question "What is Fair Wisconsin doing right?" His answers included: · According to its first report, Fair Wisconsin raised $1.3 million in a four month period, from a pool of 5,000 individual donors, 90 percent of whom are in-state. · The organization is running a church-by-church organizing program that has resulted in faith institutions representing over 500,000 congregants taking public stands against the ban. · By the end of August, Fair Wisconsin had over 7,000 volunteers, 28 local volunteer committees, 10 field offices, and over 50 paid staff members fighting the ban every single day. · The group has reframed the debate in the media and with voters, emphasizing that this two-sentence amendment will not only ban marriage for same-sex couples, but could also take away relationships such as civil unions for heterosexual as well as same-sex couples. · Fair Wisconsin has been organizing against the proposed amendment since January 2004, when the ban was first introduced in the Wisconsin legislature. In most other states that have faced these amendments, opponents have had only four or five months to mount a campaign. · One recent poll, commissioned by WisPolitics.com, found that public opinion on the ban is in a dead heat, with 48 percent voting “no” (against the amendment) and 49 percent voting “yes.” Generally polls suggest a movement of 15 to 20 percent of voters moving to a “no” vote since the amendment was introduced in the Legislature in 2004. "Fair Wisconsin is working to convince Wisconsinites that preventing same-sex couples from marrying is harmful to those couples and their families," Eagan concluded. "A win in Wisconsin- a Midwestern swing state- would send a clear message to same-sex marriage opponents that Americans are beginning to change their minds on this contentious issue." Quest Home QNU Home

National ACLU's Eagen: "Fair Wisconsin Getting It Right"
New York City - A Public Education Associate from the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has praised Fair ACLU

Wisconsin's efforts to defeat the proposed civil union and marriage ban. In a letter sent to newspaper and broadcast media reporters and editors across the country, ACLU's Eric Eagan encouraged greater coverage of the Fair Wisconsin effort to defeat the ban.
Eagan began by reviewing the recent series of setbacks the LGBT community has seen in court cases across the country. "This summer has seen a string of news across the country regarding marriage recognition for same-sex couples," Eagan wrote. "High courts in New York and Washington have ruled that those states can continue to bar same-sex couples and their families from the protections of marriage based on current state law. In Nebraska, Tennessee and Georgia, challenges to the constitutionality of ballot initiatives restricting marriage to heterosexual couples have failed in the courts. Our opponents in the fight for marriage protections have pointed to this series of bad decisions as evidence that the movement for marriage for same-sex couples is dead."
Eagan then pointed to the Wisconsin battle. "Not so fast, says Fair Wisconsin, an organization that is poised to potentially defeat a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions," Eagan continued. "While the fight for marriage in other states has encountered obstacles, Fair Wisconsin is waging an aggressive campaign to change public opinion, and is succeeding by taking its message of fairness to the people."
Eagen then posed the question "What is Fair Wisconsin doing right?" His answers included:

· According to its first report, Fair Wisconsin raised $1.3 million in a four month period, from a pool of 5,000 individual donors, 90 percent of whom are in-state.

· The organization is running a church-by-church organizing program that has resulted in faith institutions representing over 500,000 congregants taking public stands against the ban.

· By the end of August, Fair Wisconsin had over 7,000 volunteers, 28 local volunteer committees, 10 field offices, and over 50 paid staff members fighting the ban every single day.

· The group has reframed the debate in the media and with voters, emphasizing that this two-sentence amendment will not only ban marriage for same-sex couples, but could also take away relationships such as civil unions for heterosexual as well as same-sex couples.

· Fair Wisconsin has been organizing against the proposed amendment since January 2004, when the ban was first introduced in the Wisconsin legislature. In most other states that have faced these amendments, opponents have had only four or five months to mount a campaign.

· One recent poll, commissioned by WisPolitics.com, found that public opinion on the ban is in a dead heat, with 48 percent voting “no” (against the amendment) and 49 percent voting “yes.” Generally polls suggest a movement of 15 to 20 percent of voters moving to a “no” vote since the amendment was introduced in the Legislature in 2004.

"Fair Wisconsin is working to convince Wisconsinites that preventing same-sex couples from marrying is harmful to those couples and their families," Eagan concluded. "A win in Wisconsin- a Midwestern swing state- would send a clear message to same-sex marriage opponents that Americans are beginning to change their minds on this contentious issue."