The Wisconsin Family Council: now, with more hate!

The Capital Times published a great article this week, responding to those who oppose the new protections afforded to same-sex couples in the state's budget, and labeling such opposition as what it is: blatant bigotry.

In particular, the article pointed out the clear, hateful agenda of the Wisconsin Family Council, a group who pushed for a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil union rights for same-sex couples, which passed in a 2006 referendum. The group is now spearheading a plan to challenge the constitutionality of this year's budget protections for gay and lesbian couples, which include "the right to take family leave to care for a sick or dying partner, the ability to access a partner's medical records, and the right to inherit a partner's property." (Source: The Capital Times)

The budget, however, falls short of granting gay and lesbian couples marriage rights, a titular privilege that would bestow literally thousands of other benefits for same-sex couples, both at the state and federal levels.

Nevertheless, rather than worry about "protecting" the institution of marriage (a bogus claim in itself), the Wisconsin Family Council is instead challenging the benefits that are bestowed upon same-sex couples in a non-marital setting.

There is no reason behind this other than pure prejudice: why else would the group go after gay and lesbian couples who are not, in any way, going to alter the definition of marriage? And while being able to hate someone (or a group of someones) is a protected right, that right should not extend into denying others their right to live freely, as they wish to live.

The fears behind the gay marriage movement that social conservatives espouse are unwarranted to begin with. THere are no efforts to change marriage in a religious sense -- that would be impossible to begin with, seeing as there isn't a uniform religious ceremony anyway. Rather, the efforts to gain marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples are simply to grant civil marriage rights (recognition in a legal sense) to those who deserve the same secular rights as straight couples currently enjoy.

If the Wisconsin Family Council wants to promote marriage how they want to see it performed, that's fine; let them do so. But they shouldn't do so at the expense of those who may have other definitions of what marriage should be (gay or otherwise).

Pushing beyond marriage, however, into banning rights for domestic partnerships that have nothing to do with marriage shows just how misguided and prejudiced the group really is. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.