Jan 17, 2007 2:14 pm US/Central
Wisconsin Officials To Denounce Gay Marriage Ban
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ―
In the first protest of its kind in the U.S., Madison leaders will be able to denounce the state's new constitutional ban on gay marriage when they take their oath of office.
The city council voted 14-4 on Tuesday night to allow hundreds of elected and appointed officials to add a statement saying they are taking the oath under protest because the amendment "besmirches our constitution." The statement also includes a promise to work to overturn the gay marriage ban and prevent discrimination resulting from its passage.
Gay rights groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and Fair Wisconsin, believe it is the first such protest in the country.
Supporters on the council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz say the protest will allow city leaders to take the oath of office -- a pledge to uphold the state and U.S. constitutions -- with a clear conscience. Gays and lesbians also may be more likely to serve in public office, they said.
"Voters of this city are going to be very happy to know that their elected officials are as committed to reversing discrimination as they are," City Council President Austin King said. "You can be loyal to the law while also being disappointed in it and engaged in a process to change it."
But critics said adding a statement to the oath sends a dangerous signal that city officials will only uphold the parts of the constitution that they support. Council member Jed Sanborn said he voted against the gay marriage ban but found it inappropriate to tinker with the oath.
"You take an oath to affirm a system of government where elected leaders follow the law and not their own personal whims. This flies in the face of that principle," Sanborn said. "People are going to roll their eyes at this, and it's going to look like grandstanding."
Another council member who dissented, Cindy Thomas, said the protest would make Madison a national laughingstock.
Seventy-six percent of voters in Madison, the state capital, voted against the ban on gay marriage and civil unions on Nov. 7. Nonetheless, the ban passed with more than 59 percent of the vote statewide -- a stinging defeat for gay rights activists who once looked to Wisconsin for leadership.
"We appreciate Madison elected officials speaking out," said Josh Freker, a spokesman for Fair Wisconsin, which led opposition to the amendment. "This will remind people about this amendment and why it is problematic and why it is going to have a discriminatory impact."
City officials developed the plan after a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission resigned rather than swear to uphold the state constitution. The mayor had already pledged to take the oath under protest if he wins re-election in April.
City Attorney Michael May said he learned the oath itself cannot be changed under state law. But he said the protest is a political statement separate from the oath, similar to an inaugural address.
Council members and the mayor can elect to add the statement during the swearing-in ceremony on April 17. More than 500 other people who serve on city committees will be able to add the statement to written oaths they sign and file with the city.
Howard Schweber, a University of Wisconsin political science professor who supports same-sex marriage, criticized the protest, which he compared to southern officials who pledged not to carry out desegregation orders during the 1960s.
"This is a very public statement, taken in an official capacity, that sounds an awful lot like a declaration of intent to undermine a duly enacted law," Schweber said. "While it may serve a liberal political cause today, the principle can be used to serve a conservative or reactionary political cause tomorrow."
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
