GOP warned not to discriminate
9:04 PM 8/19/03
Scott Milfred State government reporter

A Madison man crashed an exclusive hearing at the Capitol on Tuesday to warn Republican lawmakers that discriminating against gays and lesbians could cost Wisconsin high-tech jobs.

A Wisconsin biotechnology executive and a Democratic senator agreed.

Dan Ross, a computer programmer, wasn't invited to speak in front of the state Senate's Select Committee on Job Creation. But he showed up anyway and passed out a page of written testimony.

"Why send a message that companies which choose to treat their gay and lesbian employees fairly are of lesser value to Wisconsin?" Ross asked in his statement.

Ross was referring to Republican-backed legislation including Assembly Bill 475, which would legally define marriage in Wisconsin as "between one man and one woman." The public hearing on the bill is set for 10 a.m. Thursday in Room 411 South at the Capitol.

The bill is largely symbolic because Wisconsin law defines marriage as a civil contract between "husband and wife." But passing it would send a message to technology companies and their talented gay and lesbian employees that Wisconsin is not a state to locate in, Ross contended.

He noted that technology leaders such as Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Apple and others offer health insurance for gay and lesbian employees who have long-term domestic partners. Some offer family medical leave.

"That they are willing to go that extra mile should tell that their corporate values include valuing all of their employees," said Ross, who is gay and has been with his partner for more than a decade.

Wisconsin government and its universities don't offer domestic partner health insurance to gay and lesbian workers.

James Prudent, chief scientific officer for EraGen Biosciences in Madison, agreed at Tuesday's hearing that Wisconsin's treatment of gays and lesbians affects the state's technology sector and job growth. Prudent was an invited speaker whom Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, called "the grandfather of the bioscience industry here" in Wisconsin.

"If we hurt gay individuals in this state," Prudent said, "it will drastically affect how we can recruit people to this state in biotechnology."

Kanavas and Cathy Stepp, R-Sturtevant, chair the committee and support AB 475. They said the biggest factors in job creation are capital investment, regulation relief and incentives for entrepreneurs.

"The history of Wisconsin is that we are a very tolerant state, and I don't think there's going to be anything that's going to change the fact that we're tolerant," said Kanavas, co-founder of a software company. "I think there's also a very strong need for traditional values in this state to be represented as well, and we're going to have a debate about that."

Stepp, a small business owner, said she's seen no indication that AB 475 would affect job growth.

"It certainly didn't affect my business decision," she said, "and I don't know why it would affect someone else's."