Learning from Wisconsin’s Past to Fight for True LGBTQ+ Equality
This June, across Wisconsin and across the country, we celebrate Pride Month, a time to pay tribute to the vitality of the LGBTQ+ community and the hard-won progress made possible by generations of LGBTQ+ activists and organizers. As a lifelong Wisconsinite and having served in government since 2004, I’ve seen up close our state’s progress on achieving true equality for our LGBTQ+ citizens.
Wisconsin has a rich history of LGBTQ+ activism and advances, including passing the nation’s first state-wide gay rights law in 1982, which outlawed discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation. That legislation was sponsored and championed by one of my predecessors who also held the 5th Assembly district seat, William Rogers. Rogers was part-Cherokee and knew all too well the pain and injustice of discrimination. We are also lucky to be represented by Tammy Baldwin, the first openly-LGBTQ+ U.S. Senator. Wisconsin also had the first Congressional seat to pass from one LGBTQ+ to another when Rep. Mark Pocan took over Baldwin’s seat. These accomplishments showcase how we have proudly lived up to Wisconsin’s “Forward” motto.
But there have been shameful moments. As he was orchestrating the Red Scare, Wisconsin’s infamous Senator Joe McCarthy was also a driving force behind what was known as the Lavender Scare, an effort to fire members of the gay community from the federal government. McCarthy alleged that government agencies were compromised by the presence of gay people, a ludicrous accusation that nonetheless led to a 1953 executive order signed by President Eisenhower that purged thousands of LGBTQ+ civil servants for “sexual perversion.” McCarthy also used allegations of homosexuality to bring down his political opponents, including blackmailing and harassing Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt over his son’s homosexuality. Senator Hunt, a vocal opponent of the Red Scare, committed suicide in his congressional office.
Unfortunately, the state’s legacy of homophobic fearmongering is not a relic of the distant past. It wasn’t all that long ago that anti-sodomy laws were still on the books here in Wisconsin — they weren’t repealed until 1983. Even more recently, in 2006, Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly to approve an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. At the time, I was in my first term in the Assembly. I represented a red district, and my constituents largely supported the ban. Still, I chose to vote against the ban when it came before the legislature, even when some of my Democratic colleagues supported it and Democratic legislative leaders encouraged me to do the same to help my re-election prospects. But to me, the vote wasn’t about getting reelected — it was about doing the right thing.
The passing of Referendum 1 marked the start of a long eight year backslide in the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights in Wisconsin — a time period that included the homophobic administration of Scott Walker and his Lieutenant Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch. In 2010, when I was running against the Walker/Kleefisch ticket as the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, Kleefisch compared same-sex marriages to marrying inanimate objects — and even dogs. I called her on the carpet, but she continued to make disparaging remarks about LGBTQ+ people. Kleefisch’s comments were a prelude to a bigoted GOP administration that worked furiously to strip domestic partners from enjoying the same benefits and recognition as so-called traditional unions, going so far as to try and strip healthcare coverage from domestic partners of state employees.
2010 was a grim year for Wisconsin for another reason, too. In addition to electing Walker and Kleefisch, Ron Johnson defeated storied progressive Russ Feingold. Johnson is a modern-day successor to Joe McCarthy’s bigoted, paranoid pulpit. Ron Johnson has said he believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman and has consistently voted against discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people at every opportunity.
Following my time in the state Assembly, I continued to fight hard for the gay community as Outagamie County Executive. The most sacred responsibility of this office is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally. When a federal judge ruled that Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban was unconstitutional in 2014, I immediately went down to the county clerk’s office to help the clerk process the new marriage applications. It was a day filled with tears and emotion, one that I will never forget. I was so lucky to share in the excitement of couples that had waited years and years for that moment.
Today’s Wisconsin is not the same Wisconsin from even a decade ago. I was thrilled recently to attend the first-ever Pride festival in Stockholm, a village of 66 people, in Pepin County. I spent the first few years of my life in the area when my father was a pastor at Sabylund Lutheran Church. This year’s festival shows that Pride matters everywhere in Wisconsin, and is a beautiful reminder of just how far we’ve come. But there’s still so much more work to be done.
I’m running for the U.S. Senate because Ron Johnson will continue to hinder progress and embarrass Wisconsin as he spreads his retrograde antics and beliefs. Republicans both in Wisconsin and across the country are introducing transphobic legislation that targets students who are simply trying to be their truest selves. Wisconsin has yet to ban conversion therapy for minors. Congress still hasn’t passed the Equality Act, which Ron Johnson opposes, to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. As I look back at my record on these issues, I’m honored to have played a small role in that march for justice, and I hope as Wisconsin’s next Senator, I will continue to push forward the cause of equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Happy Pride Month!
