Subject: Act Now to Stop discrimination Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 14:38:25 -0600 Message-ID: <376546015E56D640AB10F112B8127DDF0132B219@PEPSI.uwec.edu> From: "Wesenberg, Nancy Christine" <WESENBNC@uwec.edu>
Friends,
In light of the recent debate over RA (workplace) restrictions at UW-Eau
Claire, I want to make it clear that although I am using my UW-Eau
Claire e-mail account, I am sending this message from home, on my own
time.
I want to encourage anyone who hasn't already done so to consider
contacting your state legislators to ask them to vote NO on the proposed
constitutional amendment that would ban not only gay marriage, but civil
unions or domestic partnership agreements as well. Some legislators are
trying to push this through for a second time and a vote may come as
early as tomorrow, Dec. 6. If it passes, it will probably be on the
state ballot by Nov. 2006.
I want to remind you that even if you are still uncertain about how you
feel about total marriage equality for gay men and women, we need to
keep the debate alive and not let this amendment shut it down
prematurely. If, like a reported 60-70% of Wisconsites, you believe that
gay couples should at the very least have the protection of civil unions
or domestic partnership agreements, then you should oppose this
amendment. OR, if, like many others, you simply feel it is wrong to use
a constituional amendment to write discrimination into our state
constitution, then you should oppose this amendment.
Most people eventually want to form committed relationships and
families, and it is good for society when people promise to take
responsibility for and care for each other "in sickness and in health."
We shuold be encouraging this behavior, not discouraging it. I have been
married for more than 30 years and I believe my gay friends and family
members deserve the same civil right and attending protections and
responsibilities. We need to speak out about the fact that workaholism,
overly stressed lives, infidelity, divorce and domestic abuse are the
real threats to the instiution of marriage, not the gay couple that
lives down the street. This amendment will hurt real Wisconsin families
and their children.
It is very easy to let your legislators hear from you. Just go to
www.actionwisconsin.org/VoteNO, fill in your information, and AW will
make sure your message gets to the appropriate state legislators. The
time to act is now - TODAY. We have heard that Senator Ron Brown may be
considering voting against the amendment, but he has pledged to listen
to his constituents, so every voice is important.
I understand that many of you are very involved with work to do with the
War in Iraq and this may not seem as pressing an issue to some of you,
but I personally believe that if we let this go through now through
inaction or apathy, the day will come when we will be as ashamed of this
as we now are of the Jim Crow laws that once sanctioned discrimination
against Black Americans.
Thanks for listening. Please help is you can.
Nancy Wesenberg
Communication Specialist
University News Bureau