Forty-five Republicans and one Democrat signed a proposal for a constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples Monday, seeking to declare marriage in Wisconsin as between one man and one woman.
\It's not anti-gay; it's a proactive resolution to protect marriage in our state,"" said Julaine Appling, executive director for the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin.
The proposed amendment would still allow benefits such as health care for same-sex couples, but would forbid the state to recognize relationships whose legal status is similar to marriage.
""All it really does is say if you say the term marriage, it is between a husband and wife,"" said state Rep. Wayne Wood, D-Janesville, the only Democrat to sign the resolution.
However, according to Action Wisconsin, a group promoting gay rights, the proposed amendment does more than simply protect marriage.
The proposal is a ""state-sponsored discrimination against lesbian and gay families,"" the group told the Wisconsin State Journal.
Marriage is a historical institution for Wisconsin society, according to Appling, and varying definitions of marriage have begun to erode its traditional definition.
She said the bill's authors, state Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin, and state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, realized after the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, it was time for the state to form some sort of defense-of-marriage legislation.
Appling said traditional families generally have better economic situations than non-traditional ones and would be more likely to search for jobs.
To become law, the proposal needs to pass two consecutive legislative sessions and be approved in a statewide referendum. Appling said she is not worried about Democratic opposition to the proposal, adding Gov. Jim Doyle has no veto power over a constitutional amendment.
""What the governor thinks or does is in a large part immaterial,"" she said. She added that 64 percent of Wisconsin citizens support some form of a defense of marriage amendment, and said this support cuts across all demographic lines.
Democrats plan to counter this action today by introducing legislation granting same-sex couples full marriage rights.
Action Wisconsin plans to hold a meeting promoting rights for same-sex couples Thursday at the Orpheum Theatre, 216 State St.
