An effort by Democratic lawmakers to overturn Wisconsin’s 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is likely doomed for this session. Republican leaders in both the Assembly and Senate showed little interest in taking up the proposal Thursday, just hours after it was introduced at the Capitol.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says bringing the proposal up near the end of the session shows him that the effort is more about politics than anything else. Vos says “we are literally at the end of the session, so waiting to introduce it until one of the last days that we are on the floor…doesn’t seem to be about getting it passed, it seems to be about making a political statement.”
Vos says it’s unlikely the proposal will even get a committee hearing before the Legislative session wraps up next month.
AUDIO: Speaker Robin Vos (:28)
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) also says he continues to stand by the amendment, and he does not believe it should be repealed.
Lawmakers backing efforts to overturn the ban argue that now is the time to act, with courts striking down similar amendments in other states and recent polls showing public support for gay marriage growing. Vos says he doesn’t think there’s been a “significant shift” in public opinion during the eight years that have passed since the amendment was adopted, just a motivated effort from those who opposed it.