To allow this amendment to pass would amount to nothing more than blatant discrimination.

This November, we once again are asked to perform our civic duty and make that trip back to the polls. That’s right, it’s election time!

Several elections will be taking place, including races for the governorship and attorney general, as well as national races for House seats that are up for re-election every two years and a Senate seat that is up for grabs every six years.

But one item of particular interest this coming fall is the vote Wisconsin citizens must make regarding the “protection” of marriage.

This year, Wisconsin will join a string of states that have or will have anti-gay rights amendments on their ballots. These amendments have taken the appearance of being for the protection of traditional marriage — between a man and a woman — in the attempt to keep gay marriages illegal.

The proposed amendment states: "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."

Not only does this proposed amendment seek to eliminate the possibility of gay marriage ever becoming legal in Wisconsin, but it also seeks to prevent gay or lesbian couples from ever being able to join together in a civil union.

For an amendment to become official law in Wisconsin, it must be approved by two straight sessions of both the state Assembly and Senate. It must also be voted on and receive a majority vote of the people in the state.

But to allow this amendment to pass would amount to nothing more than blatant discrimination.

Why do we disallow gay marriage? I have heard arguments that it would ruin the sanctity of marriage. But your church, if it opposes gay marriage, would not be legally forced to wed gay couples. Your church can remain “sanctimonious” if gays are allowed to marry.

Conversely, if this amendment passes, not only will gays and lesbians be disallowed from the 200 benefits that married couples receive in Wisconsin (and over 1,000 federally, according to the Human Rights Campaign), but they would be disallowed from even having the chance to engage in a civil union.

That means regardless of the love these two people share for each other, that because they are the same sex, they would receive no benefits whatsoever in comparison to what a “normal” married couple would receive.

That is just wrong to me; any couple in love should be recognized as such by the state. Vote no on the proposed amendment, and vote out discrimination in Wisconsin.

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