A Stitch in Haste

Another example of the chickens coming home to roost in the states that passed anti-gay legislation:

In January, the University of Wisconsin will become the only school in the Big Ten that does not offer health insurance for the partners of gay and lesbian employees. Under state law it would be illegal to offer the benefits, and university officials are expressing concern that the school will be unable to attract the best faculty and researchers.
...
"The absence of domestic partner benefits is really a serious recruiting issue for us," UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear told the Wisconsin State Journal. "We know of instances where we have lost outstanding candidates because of it."

The university is also concerned about a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions. Wisconsin already has a Defense of Marriage Act outlawing gay marriage.
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"It's an issue that's becoming more and more painful for people," Marianne Whatley, ... a lesbian and associate dean in UW - Madison's School of Education said: "With this marriage amendment, suddenly Wisconsin is looking a lot more hostile, and a state that was a leader (in non-discrimination matters) is really falling behind the whole Big Ten."

Anecdotes such as this will increase exponentially as time goes by and as other states become more hospitable, as older bigots die off and are replaced by younger non-bigots. In this sense the state initiatives did have some benefit -- they enabled gays, their friends and loved ones, and businesses (I think the Big Ten qualifies) to "put on face" on exactly what these laws are doing not only to their victims, but to the states themselves.

Related Posts:
"We Hate You, But In A Nice Way..."
Gay Marriage as the "New Abolition"
Cincinnati Follows Through on Repeal of Anti-Gay Law
Gay Marriage: Any Lessons from the Boy Scouts?

Downtown Lad provides an update to a topic I blogged about previously — namely an example of the "counter-backlash" against anti-gay laws, in this case in Wisconsin:

At least three gay professors at the University of Wisconsin have left for other schools, since the University will not give benefits to partners of gay faculty. This includes two professors in the nation's top ranked Sociology Department (not for long I suspect).
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Expect other gay professors to vote with their feet. And expect the University to suffer as other people, including straight professors and students, refuse to attend a University that practices discrimination.

We need to keep in mind of course that this is not the University of Wisconsin's doing — indeed, they were quite vocal in denouncing Wisconsin's mini-DOMA and predicted exactly this sort of brain drain, as I observed in my previous post on the subject.

Be careful what anti-gay laws you wish for...you may get them.
UPDATE: PurpleScarf has more.
Related Posts:
Markets in Gay Rights: University of Wisconsin "Losing Outstanding Candidates"
Markets in Gay Rights: Virginia to Scrap Anti-Gay "No Benefits" Law
Markets in Gay Rights: Auto Companies Give Money — and a Warning
Cincinnati Follows Through on Repeal of Anti-Gay Law

There’s more separating Ohio and Illinois than just Indiana:

Ohio --

A state lawmaker from northeast Ohio says he'll introduce a bill this week to close a perceived loophole in the domestic-violence law created by the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Democratic state Representative William Healy of Canton says his bill would define domestic violence as an act committed when [heterosexual] individuals reside together, regardless of marital status.

State judges have issued differing rulings recently on whether the amendment bars prosecutors from charging unmarried [heterosexual] people with domestic violence. Two Ohio judges have issued differing rulings in the past week on that issue.

Supporters of Ohio's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage said the state's domestic violence law should be revised to make it clear that it applies to unmarried [heterosexual] couples. "These (domestic-violence) crimes should have the same penalty whether you're married or not," said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values and chairman of the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage, a group that was key in pushing for the amendment's passage.

However, the change in the law will only affect heterosexuals in non married relationships. The domestic abuse law will not apply to same-sex couples because of the constitutional amendment.

MY TAKE: One of the elements of the “counter-backlash” against the states that enacted bigot laws has been the exposure of the bait-and-switch deceptions so often used by their proponents. How many times did voters hear “It’s only about marriage – we promise nothing else will change.” Then, presto, it’s also about beating people up. And by the way, if the bigot laws are truly about “defending marriage,” then why is the “Campaign to Protect Marriage” interested in unmarried couples one way or the other? But of course it’s not about marriage at all -- it’s about sanctioning and codifying bigotry.

Illinois --
With Gay Games VII coming to Chicago in July 2006, the state is launching its first targeted push for gay and lesbian travelers, broadening its efforts to sell Illinois to niche markets.

"We will have our first-ever media-familiarization trip focusing on the affluent gay and lesbian market," Jan Kostner, deputy director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, told 600 travel professionals gathered Wednesday at the 18th annual Illinois Governor's Conference on Tourism.
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In August, the state and city will host members of the gay press, showing them the charms of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. "We will promote the Gay Games, and Chicago and Illinois, as gay-friendly destinations," Kostner said in an interview. "We want to get the city on the radar screen."
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The Gay Games, with 23 sports competitions, are expected to draw 12,000 participants and to generate more than $25 million in spending in the city.

MY TAKE: Obviously no gay enters into a relationship expecting to be the victim of domestic violence. And there’s more to lifestyle decisions than whether you get to see a sports festival every so often or where you go on vacation. But, in general, where do you think gays (and straights of goodwill) are more likely to live, or party, or sightsee, or whatever – Ohio or Illinois?

When it comes to anti-gay activism: Be careful what you campaign for -- you may get it.

POST SCRIPT: The story of why it’s called “Gay Games” rather than “Gay Olympics” is an old and sad one, and was one of many embarassments for the Supreme Court on the broad topic of gay rights. See San Francisco Arts & Athletics v. US Olympic Committee, 483 U.S. 522 (1987), or, generally, “Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. the Supreme Court."

When they say it's "only about marriage," they lie:

Public universities and local governments can't provide health insurance to the partners of gay employees without violating the state constitution, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

A three-judge panel said a 2004 voter-approved ban on gay marriage also applies to same-sex domestic partner benefits.

"The marriage amendment's plain language prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any purpose," the court wrote.

I dare anyone to find a supporter of the Michigan amendment before its passage who will now step forward and declare, "The amendment requires that? I had no idea! I didn't want that! I only cared about defending traditional marriage! I am so, so sorry!"

Of course not. Despite their disingenuous protestations to the contrary, there are few if any "half bigots" who truly care, for whatever bizarre reason, only about preventing gay marriage. We see it on the benefits front, we see it on the civil unions front, we see it on the adoption front, we see it on the child-rearing front. "Fight the gays at every turn, on every issue. Grant them nothing; deny them everything. Because it's the American thing to do — and the Christian thing to do."

The real losers, besides Michigan's gay couples (who should, if they can, become some other state's gay couples) will be the students at Michigan's public universities (who should, if they can, become students at some other state's colleges). One need look no further than to Michigan's neighbor, Wisconsin, for proof of that.

More thoughts at Outright Libertarians.