Board of Directors is Stumped

I attended a meeting of a Board of Directors of the State Bar. It was brought to our attention that Wisconsin will also have a referendum (either this April, or, strategically, when Doyle runs for reelection) on the same sex/civil union issue. It is believed that the 11 states that have already passed measures prohibiting same sex unions have created a momentum and that there is a good chance that Wisconsin may join the pack of blood-thirsty wolverine states.

We were asked for our input on this. It was clear that just about everyone in the room wanted to give a resounding “no!” to the ban. But we are elected representatives within the Bar and so we must weigh all arguments.

Our charge was to come up with ways in which these unions may affect families and in particular, children. The pro (union and/or marriage) side was easy: if you give a legal standing to relationships where children are being raised and cared for, then the couples will have tangible benefits available to them and their children. Moreover, the highest courts in Hawaii, Vermont and Massachusetts have already rejected state arguments that such unions are detrimental to the child’s well being, finding that children are better off living in stable, state-sanctioned family units.

Okay, but what’s on the other side? In what way are children hurt by these unions? Come on, Camic, the directors implored (more formally of course). You teach the stuff, give us some reasons to weigh here. No one, Camic included, could come up with any.

We agreed to have a special meeting where a lawyer from “the other side” will be invited to educate us. Then we will be able to issue a statement acknowledging that we will have fully considered both sides before reaching a decision.