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WI Democrats Unveil their Equality Agenda
Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol say President Trump and unspecified “attacks” are the reason they want to write everything from the state’s marriage laws, to the word for mother.
Democrats in Madison unveiled the Equality Agenda yesterday.
“From updating Wisconsin’s Constitution to recognize marriage equality, to prohibiting conversion therapy and eliminating the LGBTQ+ ‘panic’ defense, the bills and resolutions that make up the Equality Agenda are a part of an effort to update state laws to ensure that all families and individuals are recognized, protected, and treated equally under the law," Sen Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit said Thursday. “In the face of recent attacks on LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites and the narrowing definitions of family from both the Trump Administration and Wisconsin’s legislative Republicans, it is more important than ever to stand in solidarity and to use the powers of the legislative and executive branches to protect and uplift the rights and freedoms of Wisconsin’s LGBTQ+ families and communities.”
Spreitzer, however, didn’t say what those “recent attacks” were.
But he wasn’t the only Democrat at the Capitol to lean on unspecified fears, and the president.
“As out LGBTQ+ legislators, allies, and advocates, we are dedicated to expanding equal rights and protections for all Wisconsinites—especially as Donald Trump and far-right extremists across our country ratchet up the rhetoric and target LGBTQ+ rights,” Rep. Great Nuebauer, D-Racine, said.
“Standing up for equal rights and protections for our LGBTQIA+ neighbors is critically important, especially at a time when the Trump Administration is targeting LGBTQIA+ communities with hateful, bigoted policies,” Sen. Diane Hesselbein, D-Middleton, added in a statement of her own.
The Equality Agenda is broad, but focuses on recognizing gay marriage in the state, using gender-nutral terms for parents, and would create a new law to LGBTQ+ rights training for school counselors or social workers.
None of the legislation is expected to pass the Republican-controlled legislature.
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