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Editorial: Doyle takes us forward

(Capital Times)

A Capital Times Editorial
February 14, 2007

Wisconsin's motto is "Forward." And, despite the wrongheaded efforts of conservative legislators to turn their petty bigotry into public policy, Gov. Jim Doyle has chosen to keep Wisconsin in step with forward-thinking states on the question of how to treat same-sex couples.

As part of his budget proposal, Doyle is calling on members of the Assembly and Senate to extend domestic partner health insurance to all state employees.

Doyle's initiative does not discriminate. If implemented, state employees who have long-established relationships with members of the opposite sex would be able to obtain coverage for their partners. But the most significant beneficiaries would be members of same-sex couples who, at this point, are not allowed to wed their partners and, as a result, are denied the right to coverage that is available to married state employees.

This is an issue of basic fairness. But even those who don't have much regard for fairness or Wisconsin's good name should embrace Doyle's proposal because Wisconsin's ability to compete economically is at stake. It is an established fact that corporations and public institutions that offer domestic partner benefits are better positioned to attract the best-educated and most-skilled workers.

The University of Wisconsin is the only Big Ten school that does not offer domestic partner benefits and, already, top researchers have left the school.

Worse yet, the image of Wisconsin as a state that favors discrimination damages efforts to attract private-sector employers.

The problem of a State Constitution that explicitly discriminates against same-sex couples who want to marry remains. Ultimately, it must be addressed. To our view, the sooner that the shame of our desecrated Constitution is addressed, the better.

In the current political climate, however, that will be difficult. Republicans who favor discrimination continue to control the Assembly. And there are still some Democrats who lack the courage to challenge the bigots.

Doyle's proposal is a realistic response for the time being. It allows those who claim to be protecting "the sanctity of marriage" to stand their ground - as disreputable as it may be - while still offering an opportunity for the state to take a positive step forward.