Madison, Wisconsin -
Hundreds of gays and lesbians staged a noisy rally at the Wisconsin Capitol Monday but refused to testify at a Senate hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
LGBT civil rights group Action Wisconsin said that the hearing was just for show because the three Republican members of the five-member Judiciary Committee already have signed on to support the bill, and one of them - Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) - authored it.
The amendment would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and would also prevent the state from creating civil unions or recognize those entered into elsewhere.
"This hearing is a farce. We know how they will vote," said Tamara Packard, vice president of Action Wisconsin.
"We refuse to demean ourselves yet again by justifying our families - and our very existence - to legislators. We also protest the notion that it's a legitimate matter of public debate to write any group of citizens out of the constitution."
At one point in the protest, demonstrators covered their mouths with tape to illustrate their point that no one is listening to them.
Action Wisconsin also challenged legislators who support the amendment to sign a pledge in support of marital fidelity. The organization has noted that several legislators who support the bill - including Judiciary Committee Chairman Dave Zien (R-Eau Claire) - have been divorced, some more than once.
The amendment bill has already passed the House. An amendment to the state constitution would have to be approved by two successive sessions of the state Legislature and then by a statewide vote in a referendum.
©365Gay.com® 2004
LGBT civil rights group Action Wisconsin said that the hearing was just for show because the three Republican members of the five-member Judiciary Committee already have signed on to support the bill, and one of them - Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) - authored it.
The amendment would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and would also prevent the state from creating civil unions or recognize those entered into elsewhere.
"This hearing is a farce. We know how they will vote," said Tamara Packard, vice president of Action Wisconsin.
"We refuse to demean ourselves yet again by justifying our families - and our very existence - to legislators. We also protest the notion that it's a legitimate matter of public debate to write any group of citizens out of the constitution."
At one point in the protest, demonstrators covered their mouths with tape to illustrate their point that no one is listening to them.
Action Wisconsin also challenged legislators who support the amendment to sign a pledge in support of marital fidelity. The organization has noted that several legislators who support the bill - including Judiciary Committee Chairman Dave Zien (R-Eau Claire) - have been divorced, some more than once.
The amendment bill has already passed the House. An amendment to the state constitution would have to be approved by two successive sessions of the state Legislature and then by a statewide vote in a referendum.
©365Gay.com® 2004
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.
