Walker, Neumann Stand For Discrimination

Scott Walker and Mark Neumann endorse discrimination, specifically singling out gay citizen/taxpayers for reduced rights under the law.

It's nothing less than a craven and self-serving appeal for votes from an ideologically-based constituency, and is an unacceptable attitude for a public official; Neumann comes across as a hapless homophobe while Walker, ever the pol, chooses his words more carefully.

But it's baloney no matter how they slice it.

Embedding legal discrimination in the law, let alone a state constitution like Wisconsin's, should be condemned outright.

It's not a liberal or a conservative issue - - note that leading conservative scholar and former George W. Bush solicitor general Ted Olson is actively trying to undo this legal damage in California.

Wisconsin's constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages and civil unions was the brainchild of former Assembly Majority leader John Gard, who tried to use it as a platform to the US House of Representatives - - a cynical ploy rejected even by a relatively-conservative northern Wisconsin electorate.

Marriage and civil unions convey legal and financial benefits to those who choose them, and preventing by law a class of Americans from receiving those benefits is absolutely against the US Constitution's equal protection and due process standards.

Let's hope the amendment is thrown out by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and that no proponent of legal bigotry is elected our Governor.