While the state of Wisconsin does have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Governor Scott Walker feels that the state has a “healthy balance” of discrimination.
This weekend, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) talked to Bloomberg TV’s Al Hunt about the mix of protections and limitations on LGBT rights his state offers, telling the host that the Wisconsin has struck a “healthy balance.” He lauded the state’s nondiscrimination protections for LGBT workers, suggesting the U.S. House should consider the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), because there have only been “limited problems” with it in Wisconsin. He simultaneously, however, defended its ban on same-sex marriage.
The obvious problem is that Walker feels a need to “balance” civil rights against the sensitivities of bigots.
There is only one right side here, and that side deserves equal treatment under the law. To “balance” civil rights is to indulge the worst elements of society. And yet Walker will probably be forced to abandon this “healthy balance” in favor of complete intolerance if he decides to seek higher office.
Anyone who feels a need to balance civil rights in this manner will probably drop the pretense on a whim if it will benefit them.