Wisconsin State Senator Mark Miller reflects on the parallels between laws that had historically prohibited interracial marriage and current prohibitions against marriage for same sex couples. He draws on his own experiences in the late 1960s, early in his marriage to Jo Oyama-Miller, his Japanese-American wife, when the young couple lived lived in Alabama--a state where it was still technically illegal for them to be married. He speaks movingly of the depth of his love for his wife, and his determination that no law or climate of prejudice could ever stop them from being married.
"There's a personal journey that we all must make," he says, "and hopefully we make it in the arc of advancing greater freedom and greater personal justice for everyone....
"The state should have no authority to determine who I should love, and who should be my life partner. It's a decision that we should all be able to make for ourselves. And the parallels with today.... the gay rights movement is the civil rights movement of our time. Back in the 60s and the 70s, courageous people stood up for black civil rights and equal rights for women.... Now is the time for people of conscience to stand up for our brothers and sisters who are gay."
Included are excerpts from an interview by John Quinlan on the public affairs radio program, Forward Forum, which aired on July 29, 2006 on WXXM, The Mic, 92.1 (www.themic921.com) in Madison, WI. The 13 minute clip also includes excerpts from a speech that then State Rep. Mark Miller delivered on the floor of the Wisconsin State Assembly on March 4, 2004.
Wisconsin voters face a ballot initiative on November 7, 2006 that, if passed, would lead to a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay civil unions and marriage in the state. The measure's broadly-written second clause could also prevent unmarried people from receiving any rights even similar to marriage--a clause with potential devastating results for unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation, in the areas of health insurance, hospital visitation, and other basic rights. It is believed, however, that Wisconsin has the possibility of being the first state in the nation to turn back such an amendment. (See www.fairwisconsin.org.)
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