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| Wisconsin Green Party Co-Sponsors Lobby Day to Stop Constitutional Ban on Civil Unions and Marriage. |
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Wisconsin Green Party January 22, 2005 Contacts: The Wisconsin Green Party is proud to co-sponsor Lobby Day to stop the proposed constitutional ban on civil unions and gay and lesbian marriage. Action Wisconsin has organized Lobby Day to meet with legislators, hoping to persuade them to vote against the proposed ban. The Lobby Day will take place Thursday January 27, 2005, 10am-4pm, in Madison, Wisconsin. Action Wisconsin is a statewide organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. "People from all over Wisconsin are coming to the Capitol to tell their legislators that this amendment goes too far," said Christopher Ott, Executive Director of Action Wisconsin. "It would not only ban gay marriage, but also civil unions and domestic partnerships. It would hurt real Wisconsin families by denying basic rights and responsibilities, like being able to share health and retirement benefits or take bereavement leave after a death in the family. Most people in Wisconsin support tolerance and fairness, and we're asking our lawmakers to do the same." The amendment was already passed once in March 2004, and will probably return for a second vote in the Legislature this winter. If passed again before this March, it could go to a statewide referendum vote as soon as April 2005. "The proposed constitutional ban on Equal Marriage Rights for the LGBT community is sponsored by legislators sowing divisiveness in order to mask their inadequacies to reconcile the real problems our State and our Nation are struggling with today," said Mike LaForest, Lavender Caucus Representative to the Coordinating Council of the Wisconsin Green Party. "With the Wisconsin State budget deficit at $3 billion, manufacturing jobs leaving Wisconsin, and over 323,000 Wisconsinites without health insurance, common sense should dictate that Wisconsin citizens have so much more to be concerned about than a ban on marriage between people of the same gender." The Lavender Caucus is a caucus of the United States Green Party. It is an organization of and for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer Greens, promoting full rights for themselves. "My motivation for working against the proposed ban is to uphold the pillars of social justice and equality," said Kyra Valentine, Co-spokesperson of the Ahnapee River Green Party of Door/Kewaunee County. "We need to move in the spirit of our state motto, "Forward!", and pursue full rights and protections for all citizens in committed relationships. Our Constitution was never intended to limit rights by targeting and excluding a specified group of people based on their inherent sexual orientation." Members of the Ahnapee River Green Party are collecting signatures to oppose the proposed constitutional ban on gay and lesbian marriage and civil unions. They are also organizing a meeting with Senator Alan Lasee, one of the senators targeted by Action Wisconsin, to let him know of his constituents' opposition. "Wisconsin Greens affirm the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender or sexual orientation," said Jill Bussiere, Co-spokesperson of the Wisconsin Green Party. "We also support the right of all individuals to be treated equally in all areas of life, including housing, employment, civil marriage and benefits, and child custody." More Information: The Wisconsin Green Party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States, and stands on the four pillars of Social & Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Nonviolence, and Ecological Wisdom. For more information, visit www.wisconsingreenparty.org. The Green Party of the United States' website is www.gp.org . For more information about Action Wisconsin, to register for Lobby Day, or to sign a petition against the ban, visit www.actionwisconsin.org/ For more information about the Lavender Greens Caucus, visit
www.lavendergreens.org/
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