Time for Milwaukee’s cowboy sheriff to mozy

If you’re a progressive LGBT voter or ally looking for a candidate to enthusiastically support in the Democratic primary for Milwaukee County sheriff, you’re out of luck.

Incumbent Dave Clarke and his challenger, MPD Lt. Chris…

Chris Larson – Photo: Andre Simms

Larson is best fit for Senate District 7

Representing Wisconsin’s 7th Senate District, Jeff Plale has been a reliable ally in the on LGBT rights and a leader on HIV/AIDS funding. He opposed the 2006 voter referendum that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state, and…

Tom Nelson (left) is an effective campaigner. – Photo: Courtesy

Tom Nelson can help
Barrett win in November

The three leading contenders on the Democratic ticket for lieutenant governor express unqualified support for LGBT equality and have gone to some lengths to demonstrate that support. Businessman Henry Sanders, state Sen. Spencer Coggs and…

Prop 8 stay prolongs engagements

After a federal district court judge lifted his stay on same-sex marriages in California, couples were prepared to legally exchange vows on Aug. 18.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals silenced their…

Katie Belanger – Photo: Courtesy

Suit seeks to overturn registry

A Christian-right group is suing to overturn Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry on the grounds that it violates the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and any arrangement “substantially similar” to marriage.

Wisconsin Family Action filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court on Aug. 20, contending that the registry creates a legal status that is substantially similar to that of marriage. The WFA was also behind the 2006 voter referendum that resulted in the constitutional ban.

Gov. Jim Doyle proposed the registry as a means of granting same-sex couples basic legal rights, including the right to visit each other in hospitals, make end-of-life decisions and inherit each other’s property. The Democratic-controlled Legislature approved the registry and it went into effect in August 2009.

As of the beginning of August, 1,541 couples had signed up.

“A reasonable person observing this registry would easily conclude that it is intended to mirror marriage,” Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said in a statement. “It borrows the requirements and eligibility standards for marriage, even to the point of requiring that the price of the registry certificate be the same as for a marriage license.”