Marriage Amendment

Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment/Equal Protection Amendment Proposed
1/25/2007

Wisconsin voters approved the marriage amendment on November 7, 2006 by a wide margin of 59.4% to 40.6%. The amendment reads, “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.” The amendment now becomes part of the Wisconsin constitution.

Nationwide, eight states voted in November on amendments to ban same sex marriage: Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin approved them. But, Arizona became the first state to defeat this type of amendment. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states to consider them.

The Wisconsin Jewish Conference strongly opposed the marriage amendment. How the amendment will be interpreted is now a matter for the courts to decide.

In addition to interpretation by the judiciary, the amendment may be affected by legislative attempts to insert other language into the constitution to mitigate or clarify (or possibly repeal) the amendment. In one such effort, Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) has introduced an equal protection amendment to the state constitution. The measure, SJR 2, would add the following language to the constitution: “all persons are guaranteed equal protection of the laws and no law shall discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status, age, or ancestry and requires the government to protect and secure these equal rights of the governed.” This resolution attempts to eliminate the potential for the newly enacted amendment to prevent individuals from receiving domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and many other unforeseen discriminatory actions.

Both houses of the Legislature have passed the resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages and civil unions in Wisconsin. This is the second consideration of the measure. In order to become part of Wisconsin’s constitution, the proposal must pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions and be approved by voters in a statewide referendum. There is no involvement by the Governor. Because the measure was successfully approved by both the 2003-2004 and the 2005-2006 Legislatures, it will now be on the November 2006 ballot.

The proposal is formally known as Senate Joint Resolution 53. Its legislative history is available on the Legislature’s website. The amendment reads, “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.”

The WJC, along with many other faith-based communities, opposes the marriage amendment and registered against the measure at the public hearing in November. In addition, Rabbi Jonathan Biatch of Temple Beth El in Madison at the hearing on his own behalf.

See also a letter to the editor from various Jewish leaders, published in the March 22, 2006 Capital Times.