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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Partner benefits law provokes legal wrangling By Jessica Feld THE DAILY CARDINAL
Multiple groups petitioned the state Supreme Court Tuesday regarding a lawsuit attempting to strike down Wisconsin’s domesticpartner benefits law. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal, a Chicago-based civil rights organization, seek to defend the law, passed as part of Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-’11 biennial budget. “There are almost 15,000 same-sex couples and their families living in Wisconsin who need the basic protections provided by domestic partnerships,” Christopher Clark, senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal, said in a statement. “We plan to vigorously defend the important legal protections that the legislature validly enacted to protect Wisconsin citizens.” Wisconsin Family Action, a conservative advocacy group, filed an original action suit with the Supreme Court in July. The group aims to overturn the domestic-partnership law they say violates the 2006 Wisconsin constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. “The legal status that has been
created by the registry is unconstitutional,” Julaine Appling, president of WFA, said. “Nearly 60 percent of the voters in November 2006 said marriage in this state is between a man and a woman and that a legal status identical to or substantially similar to that of marriage would not be valid or recognized in this state.” Under current law, same-sex couples are eligible for 43 out of over 200 benefits reserved for legally married couples. The majority of benefits available to domestic partners include benefits related to health care issues, according to a statement from Lambda Legal. Appling said same-sex couples can obtain the same benefits as legally married couples without relying on domestic-partnership laws by hiring a lawyer and going through the legal system. “We don’t have to redefine marriage and create a new legal status that approximates marriage in order for them to have those legal protections,” Appling said. According to Clark, same-sex couples would have to spend a significant amount of money to partners page 3
Struggling with juggling
A child holds a sign in Milwaukee as part of the Statewide March for Immigrant and Labor Reform on May 1. VALERIE KLESSIG THE DAILY CARDINAL
Living the DREAM? Day of action pushes for immigration reform By Valerie Klessig
In the majority of cases, undocumented immigrants have Students nationwide are orga- either entered the country without nizing events Wednesday to raise valid documents or entered with awareness of the Development, valid visas that have now expired. Relief and Education for Alien According to UW-Madison comMinors Act. The DREAM Act is munity and environmental socia federal immigration reform bill ology professor Jill Harrison, a that, if passed, would create a path common misconception is that to legalization through a two-year undocumented immigrants do not college education or two years of pay for social services. However, military service for undocubecause unauthorized immimented youth. grants are often working According to Cindy with false documentaBreunig, a member tion, they are paying of the Wisconsin payroll taxes. immigrant advocacy “It’s not that these IMMIGRATION group Voces de la people aren’t paying REFORM Frontera, the nation’s for the services that broken immigration they’re using,” Harrison system leaves almost no said. “It’s that the federal path to legalization for undocu- government isn’t routing that mented immigrants. money back to the jurisdictions “The DREAM Act is a neces- that actually end up supporting sary policy change that we need those services.” to implement at the national According to Madison East level,” Breunig said. High School guidance counselor
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Joe Nigh, the DREAM Act would be a good start to immigration reform because it would empower those granted residency to advocate for other immigrants. Nigh considers the DREAM Act social justice because immigrants would not be limited to what he calls “slave jobs and slave wages.” “Some people try to paint Latinos as people who come here to commit crimes,” Nigh said. “The truth is that they do all the dirty jobs nobody wants to do for substandard wages.” Members of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national nonprofit organization that aims to improve border security, have opposed what they call the DREAM Act’s “amnesty for illegal aliens.” According to FAIR, the DREAM Act would provide an incentive for additional illegal immigration to the United States. dream page 3
Supporters push new central library at meeting By Allison Geyer THE DAILY CARDINAL
DANNY MARCHEWKA/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Mindy Anderson practices the three-ball cascade at a juggling mini-course in Memorial Union’s Great Hall Tuesday night.
New plans for Madison’s central library and a new city police training facility were among the topics up for discussion at Tuesday’s second half of the Board of Estimates capital budget hearing. Many Madison residents and city business officials spoke out in favor of the proposal to build a new central library on West Washington Avenue, saying it would provide job opportunities and an economic boost to the downtown area. “The projects will bring steady, permanent jobs to Madison residents,” said Mark Hoffman, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “Growth will take off if we get the project going.”
A representative from the Board of Public Works also said 20 to 25 percent of workers unions are experiencing unemployment at this time and construction projects are being completed at up to 18 percent less then their original budgets. A new proposal that excited many community and board members was the idea of creating public community gardens on the rooftop of the new library building. Madison resident Jane Anne Morris found strong neighborhood support for the garden idea and has already collected hundreds of signatures in favor of the proposition. “I’d love to be able to get a book and a tomato,” resident Mike Fino said of the idea. The library design team was receptive to the idea but expressed
doubts about its feasibility. Some members of the design team said a “green” roof might be possible, but it might not work to grow crops on the roof. Representatives from the police department also addressed the board, proposing the purchase of a new $2 million training facility to replace their current location and accommodate growing class sizes. There was talk of a departmental partnership with Madison Area Technical College, but those plans were ultimately rejected. “We would love to have a partnership with MATC, but we have not been able to come to an agreement that would leverage our needs,” the representative officer said.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”