Dreyfus opposes marriage amendment

Former Republican governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus has a column explaining his opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment in Wisconsin to ban same-sex marriage, and civil unions.

Excerpt:

Federally, such an amendment would never pass muster with the Supreme Court. The very First Amendment of the Bill of Rights clearly states, "Congress shall make NO law respecting an establishment of religion, OR prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Such an amendment nationally would do that very clearly. We wouldn’t put up with that as Americans, so why would we as Badgers in this state?

I would warn church leaders to be very resistant to inviting the government into your tents. If you let the camel’s nose in, the hump will surely follow.

Now let me move on to the term "civil union." Actually, all of us who are married before an altar of God signed on to a civil union as well. Do you remember that after the wedding you both probably went into the cleric’s office and signed some papers? That was the civil contract aspect of marriage, and the state has granted the power to execute such a contract to both clerics and judges. You may call that your marriage license, but it is actually a union recognized under civil law.

He goes on to say that we should separate the civil union contract granted by the state from the religious aspect of marriage carried out by the church, a concept a lot of reasonable Wisconsinites could support.