Business for a Fair Wisconsin
Business leaders in Wisconsin are concerned that the civil unions and marriage ban will hurt our state's business climate. Increasingly, groups like the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce are speaking out.
The civil unions and marriage ban would brand Wisconsin as unwelcoming and hostile to diversity. This would come at a time when we are trying to stem the "brain drain" of talented young Wisconsinites, our state is working to attract hi-tech business, and many companies are taking steps to attract and retain a talented and diverse workforce. For example, over 100 Wisconsin employers and over 250 of the Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner health insurance coverage to stay competitive.
Why business leaders are fighting the ban:
The amendment will impede efforts to attract companies that value innovation.
The far-reaching nature of the amendment will tarnish Wisconsin’s progressive reputation and undercut ongoing efforts to become a competitive player in the global marketplace.
The amendment will accelerate the brain drain.
Numerous studies demonstrate that young professionals value diversity. They are already leaving Wisconsin for other states. Passage of the ban would make our business and social climates even less attractive to young professionals.
The far-reaching and ambiguous language of the amendment’s second sentence could result in costly litigation. In states that have passed similar amendments, legal challenges have been posed to domestic partner benefits offered by public employers and domestic violence protections for unmarried individuals. Legal experts expect other existing protections for unmarried couples to be challenged under these amendments.
Defeating this ban will help Wisconsin attract and retain the best and the brightest talent.
Becoming the first state to reject this kind of amendment would set us apart and make Wisconsin more attractive to young professionals, high-tech industries, and global economic players. We would send a clear message that Wisconsin welcomes talent, creativity, and innovation.
The ban will also be bad for tourism
The ban would reverse Wisconsin’s reputation as a friendly, welcoming state. Increasingly, gay people see the U.S. map as divided between the northeast and west vs. “fly-over” states with constitutional bans. And it’s not just gay people who care—young professionals tend to spend their tourism dollars in places that value tolerant communities.
After Cincinnati passed an anti-gay measure in the early 90s, the city lost around $45 million. Eight associations, including the American Library Association, moved their conventions and another 12 removed Cincinnati from their prospect lists due to the anti-gay city measure. The city lost so much business that a coalition of business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, Proctor and Gamble, and the Downtown Hotel Association launched a campaign to have it overturned in 2004.
And in 1992, Colorado voters approved a state constitutional allowing discrimination against gays and lesbians. Due to the negative publicity, the city of Denver alone lost an estimated $38 million in convention bookings.
Read this article about Wisconsin tourism officials speaking out against the ban.
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Robert Carpick is a top-notch researcher in the cutting-edge field of nanotechnology and a UW associate professor of physics engineering. He has brought in over $3.4 million in grants to the Wisconsin economy because of his work. But Carpick has decided to leave Wisconsin in part because UW does not offer domestic partner benefits--health insurance for his partner that his non-gay colleagues automatically have for their married spouses. UW-Madison is the only school in the Big 10 that does not offer domestic partner benefits. Carpick has decided to relocate to University of Pennsylvania where his partner can have health care coverage while pursuing his dream of opening a small business.