It was a pretty dark day for the LGBT community and their allies back in 2006, when voters approved a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and civil unions. But some hope was salvaged when the state's domestic partner registry was upheld in court. There was still ground on which to continue the fight.
That is what Fair Wisconsin, the group formed to pursue LGBT rights equality, has continued to do since then. According to our report this week by news editor Judith Davidoff, it has had more success than might have been expected judging by that 2006 election result. In "The Gay Rights Fight," Davidoff recounts how Fair Wisconsin has carried the fight in city councils and county boards throughout the state.
Indeed, the 2012 national election distinguished itself by hardly mentioning the issue, especially on the conservative right. It would seem that practically overnight the same-sex marriage and gay rights issues were under moratorium for the election. Why was this? No one knows for sure at this point, but it probably has to do with the fact that LGBT status knows no political boundaries, and many conservative spokespeople were faced with the choice of acknowledging the reality of the situation or disowning loved ones for the sake of orthodoxy.
The revelation this week by 12-year professional basketball player Jason Collins that he is gay, and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his coming out, may be the landmark event that puts the sexual orientation bugaboo to rest. As the progressive politicians put it in the last national cycle, it just doesn't matter to the body politic who you love.
We are sorry, yet pleased, to inform the public that the Isthmus a La Carts event at Olin Park on May 10 is sold out.
