Another Week, Another Wake Up Call: LGBTQ Rights on the Line

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In the week leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, there were more than enough reminders of what’s at stake for our local LGBT community given our current political climate. Some of them garnered national and international news headlines. Among them was the 10th anniversary of the far-right terrorist attack on the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek that killed six. In the decade long interim hate crimes have only increased. Across the spectrum people are being targeted because of their ethnicity, race and sexual orientation. Twenty percent of hate crimes are directed towards members of the LGBTQ community.

On Thursday last, the Shepherd Express LGBTQ Progress Awards honored a Waukesha School District teacher for her activism in supporting LGBTQ students. In part, the award recognized her fight against the district’s ban on the display of rainbows and other diversity affirming signage. Not ironically, the day before the ceremony, the Kettle Moraine School District instituted a similar ban. That one includes religious symbols but I doubt crosses on neck chains, rosaries on rearview mirrors or the mention of God in the Pledge of Allegiance will be subject to penalty, much less notice.

Ironically, even as more old-school Republican leaders issued warnings of the threat to democracy posed by their own Republican Party, the big news was, of course, Milwaukee’s embrace of 2024 Republican National Convention. Portending things to come, in Waukesha, the GOP sensei of sedition, the hawker of hate and guru of grift and grievance stumped for gubernatorial hopeful Tim Michels. Trans rights were the target of some of his vitriolic and ineloquent bombast. Suffice it to say, no moment of silence was held for the victims of the Sikh Temple terror attack. In Dallas, neo-fascist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received a rousing standing ovation for his anti-Semitic speech delivered to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas.

Democratic Contenders

Meanwhile, the primary election results for Democratic contenders played out as expected with current Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes securing the top spot even before the votes were tallied with his multiple opponents bowing out of the race prior to Election Day. He faces a vulnerable Sen. Ron Johnson in November. Stand out winner among the Democrats was transwoman Jessica Katzenmeyer who, after garnering 55% of the primary vote, will now run to represent Wisconsin State Senate District 5.

For Republicans, Tim “Trumpnik” Michels won their gubernatorial primary. Endorsed by former VP Mike Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz, candidate Rebecca Kleefisch, whose campaign was framed around her infamous quote “the fight against liberals who want to take away our way of life,” failed again in her quest for the Governor’s mansion. One wonders what exactly is their “way of life,” although it’s easiest enough to imagine it doesn’t include gay people, especially married ones.

Meanwhile, Michels’ acceptance speech focused on Milwaukee, mentioning his priority to fight the city’s crime and “make education better.” The latter reference is the divide-and-conquer plan to break up Milwaukee Public Schools administration into multiple smaller districts and expand school choice to weaken the institution and eventually dismantle it.

For LGBTQs, Michels’ opposition to marriage equality should be especially disconcerting. Should Pres. Biden’s Respect for Marriage Act fail in the Senate (it passed in the Congress 267-157 with 145 Republican votes against it), the prospect of the Supreme Court reversing the Obergefeil decision that legalized same-sex marriage is very real. Like the enforcement of Wisconsin’s 1849 anti-abortion law upon the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade, presumably the state’s constitutional marriage amendment of 2006 would again be valid, making same-sex marriage illegal and possibly annulling current marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples. This is the guy who doesn’t care who he offends and promises to send kids to school “no matter what Fauci says.”

As if the blaring clarion call to LGBTQ political engagement hasn’t been loud enough already, the events of just the past week certainly should jack up the volume. The midterm election in November takes on an ever-greater urgency for that engagement to be mobilized.