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Anti-gay group to rally in Madison
01/03/2012

On Tuesday, July 27, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will descend upon Madison as part of their nationwide "Summer for Marriage" tour. NOM is the extremist, anti-gay group behind the Prop 8 campaign in California.

We cannot allow the distractions, distortions, and discriminatory agenda of groups like NOM to go unanswered. Fair Wisconsin, along with many other fair-minded organizations from around the state, is organizing a march that will begin in Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus at 11:00am before heading up Street Street and finally ending in front of the State Capitol building.

The event will show NOM, and other organizations like it, that we stand united for equality. From the passage of domestic partnerships to the growing support for repealing our discriminatory constitutional amendment, Wisconsin is moving in the right direction and we won't take another step back.

We need you, and other fair-minded Wisconsinites to join us on July 27 as we stand together for marriage equality. For more information about the event, click here.

“Fair Wisconsin is disappointed in but respects the Court’s decision. We will continue working to protect Wisconsin’s 15,000 same-sex couples and build towards a legislative repeal of this discriminatory amendment to our state’s constitution,” says Fair Wisconsin Executive Director, Katie Belanger. “This decision highlights the importance of the domestic partnership protections that Fair Wisconsin helped to enact one year ago. Same-sex couples across our state have been availing themselves of the basic protections that domestic partnerships provide, such as hospital visitation, inheritance, and the ability to take leave from work to care for a sick or injured partner.”

“Domestic partnerships are just one step on the long road to equality,” continued Belanger. “Fair Wisconsin will continue working toward the day when all Wisconsin’s citizens will know true equality.”

The new policy also allows individuals to obtain a temporary passport in the appropriate gender if a doctor's statement demonstrates that an applicant is in the process of a gender transition. These new policies and procedures are based on the standards and recommendations of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

These changes will help to reduce the extreme danger many transgender Americans face while traveling abroad in countries hostile towards them as well as harassment they may face upon leaving or returning to the U.S. These policies are a major step forward towards the State Department's mission to protect all Americans while traveling, working or living overseas.

While President Obama acknowledged that the memorandum was an important step towards equality, he also renewed his call for the passage of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, championed by Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin. The legislation, currently pending in both Houses of Congress, would extend the full range of benefits currently enjoyed by hetrosexual, married Federal employees to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees as well.

Glasspool said in a press conference that her ordainment shows the commitment of the Episcopal Church to inclusivity. “We are being the church we say we are. We're not just saying it, we're doing it and there's something very powerful about that."

Fair Wisconsin congratulates Bishop Glasspool on her ordainment. The commitment to equality shown by the Espiscopal church illustrates that religion and sexuality do not have to be opposing concepts.
For more information on Bishop Glasspool and the ceremony, click here.

$/></div> <hr WIDTH="70%" alIGN="LEFT"> <h3 ALIGN="LEFT"><a href="http://www.newquestcity.com/forums/templates/threads.cfm/category/S50/thread/230107"> Honoring those who are fighting for us: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin</a> 01/03/2012 </h3> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CQ9SV-h0FNQ/S_bf83zhExI/AAAAAAAAAG8/UfyKqSsxbKw/s1600/2003_Head_Shot_b.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 221px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CQ9SV-h0FNQ/S_bf83zhExI/AAAAAAAAAG8/UfyKqSsxbKw/s320/2003_Head_Shot_b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473808633980588818" border="0" /></a> We are very excited to announce that this year we will be dedicating our annual Fair Wisconsin Statewide Leadership Award to Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin. Congresswoman Baldwin’s leadership deserves to be recognized as the standard of excellence in the fight for equality. When she won her first Congressional election in 1998 she broke barriers by becoming the first out lesbian, the first woman from Wisconsin, and the first openly gay non-incumbent elected to Congress. Congresswoman Baldwin’s leadership did not just begin when she was elected to Congress. She has been an active advocate for the LGBT community since her years on the Dane County Board of Supervisors and in the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1994, she founded Action Wisconsin: A Congress for Human Rights which would later become Fair Wisconsin as we know it today. Since her election to the House of Representatives in 1998, Tammy has continued her tireless work for fairness for LGBT citizens. She is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, a bi-partisan group advocating for equality for LGBT people at home and abroad. Congresswoman Baldwin has been on the forefront in Congress in the fight for equality. Her leadership was instrumental in the enactment of hate crimes legislation that includes protections based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. She is also leading the fight for LGBT equality in the workplace through her efforts to pass the inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). She is the author of the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act that would grant the domestic partners of federal employees, the same benefits – and require of them the same obligations – as the spouses of federal employees. On more than one occasion, President Obama has said he wants to sign this bill into law. She is also a firm opponent of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and an original cosponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal it. In addition to LGBT equality, Congresswoman Baldwin is passionate about ensuring access to comprehensive health care for all Americans. She played a key role in crafting the new health care reform law and was able to include in the House version of that bill provisions to identify and eliminate LGBT health disparities. While those provisions were not included in the final bill, she is continuing to push those measures through stand-alone legislation, the Ending LGBT Health Disparities Act. There is no question that Wisconsin is truly fortunate to have such a passionate advocate and respected leader in Congress. Please join us in thanking Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin for her work to achieve fairness and equality for LGBT citizens, not just in Wisconsin, but across the nation. <a href="https://equalityfederation.salsalabs.com/o/35038/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=3">Click here to sponsor or RSVP to the Fair Wisconsin Leadership Awards and thank Congresswoman Baldwin for her leadership.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width=$ .

In an act of bullying and retribution, Sortwell's resolution emerged following a request made for domestic partner health care coverage by David Fowles, a City of Green Bay Department of Public Works employee.

Fair Wisconsin refuses to allow Sortwell to bully brave LGBT people who dare to stand up for basic protections. The work we did to inform and rally our Green Bay supporters resulted in approximately 100 people attending to register their opposition and speak out against Sortwell’s discriminatory measure.

"We are pleased that the City Council saw fit to postpone this unfortunate and ill-advised resolution," commented Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger. “The outpouring of opposition to this measure was overwhelming and we were proud to stand with so many LGBT and allied residents of Green Bay to stop this attempt to strip basic protections from caring and committed same-sex couples.”

By postponing the resolution indefinitely, the City Council took no formal action on the measure and it can be brought forward again. Fair Wisconsin will continue to monitor the situation in Green Bay and is prepared to continue opposing further measures by Sortwell and others like him that bully and discriminate against LGBT people.

Click here to sign the petition to tell NOM to stop these attacks on LGBT individuals and families.

To see pictures of the March for Marriage Equality, click here.

This is just one small snapshot of our life together. Ann works for a large nonprofit organization, and I work for city government. We contribute to our community in meaningful ways. We pay taxes, attend church, are good neighbors and hard-working citizens being treated unfairly, without equal protections under the law.

I believe Fair Wisconsin is responding as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did when he peacefully spoke against injustice. He reminded us then (and it rings true today): "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." He wrote this from Birmingham Jail at a time when people believed African Americans did not deserve the same legal protections as white people. We face a similar struggle today. There are those within the National Organization for Marriage who would emulate those who opposed Dr. Martin Luther King by denying the most basic protections to their fellow Americans.

The tide is turning. Ultimately, I am confident love will prevail.

- Kathy Flores, Appleton

Thanks, Kathy, for taking the time to share this powerful story with us. We encourage all of our friends and advocates throughout the Badger State to tell us what equality means to you!

We need you, and other fair-minded Wisconsinites to join us on July 27 as we stand together for marriage equality. For more information about the event, click here.

California's ban on marriage equality has been especially controversial, attracting attention, donations and support (both for and against the measure) from individuals and groups around the country while making several trips through the state's court system.

If Judge Walker overturns the ban, marriage licenses for same-sex couples could begin being issued right away, although it is likely the case will still continue on in the legal system-- possibly traveling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court-- before a final decision on the measure is made. Judge Walker is expected to make his ruling sometime this summer.

Click here to read a full transcript of the case's closing arguments.