Great news for Marriage Equality in Wisconsin this weekend. At both the 2nd and 7th Congressional District Democratic Party Conventions, the resolution drafted by the DPW LGBT Caucus passed and was forwarded on to the State Convention for adoption by the party and potential inclusion in the platform of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. 

In the 2nd Congressional District Convention, which had to select 10 resolutions to forward to the State Party from the 13 before it, the Marriage Equality resolution recieved the most votes to move to the next level!

At the LGBT Caucus meeting at the 2011 DPW State Convention, the Caucus decided to work towards including a marriage equality plank in the State Party Platform. The caucus offered a draft resolution, which a number of county parties adopted:

WHEREAS, Section 13 of Article XIII of the Wisconsin Constitution denies equal treatment under the law to same-sex couples and their familes; and

WHEREAS, Wisconsin's Domestic Partner Registry offers limited but critical protections to same-sex couples and their families; and

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPW is committed to: (1)  preserving Wisconsin's Domestic Partnership Registry; (2) repealing Section 13 of Article XIII of the Wisconsin Constitution; and (3) supporting marriage equality for same-sex couples.

The actions of the 2nd and 7th CD conventions ensures that the resolution will make it to the floor of the state party for potential adoption. The 8th CD convention is upcoming and we hope that it will pass there as well. 

The day is coming when we will end marriage discrimintion in Wisconsin. We believe it is time to take the next step, including marriage equality in the DPW 2012 platform. 

The process of selecting Wisconsin's delegates to the Democratic National Committee starts Sunday, April 15th with the county-level caucuses. This is our first chance to talk with Wisconsin Democrats about including Marriage Equality in the national platform, and to seek commitments to support a marriage equality plank if one is brought forward. 

To find out where your County is caucusing, you can visit the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's County Caucus page.