Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus doubles in size

The Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus has more than doubled in size, the group of lawmakers announced in a statement this week.

Lawmakers who are members of the LGBTQ+ community and do “not vote for, or support, or co-sponsor legislation that would harm the LGBTQ+ community” can join the caucus, said Rep. Christian Phelps, D-Eau Claire, its new vice chair.

The seven new members were elected in November at the same time as President Donald Trump — who, according to Phelps, made the transgender community a “scapegoat.” To Phelps, who’s 31, that’s not a contradiction.

“There’s a difference between how people perceive things based on how local they are,” he said.

“When you ask a Wisconsinite — do you know an LGBTQ+ person? And do you believe the person you know and love is a good person?” Phelps said. “I think an overwhelming majority of them are going to say yes.”

All 12 members of the caucus are Democrats. The seven new members are Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim, D-Appleton, Rep. Angelina Cruz, D-Racine, Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, D-Green Bay, Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon, Rep. Angela Stroud, D-Ashland, Rep. Randy Udell, D-Fitchburg and Phelps.

Caucus members discuss political moment, legislative priorities

Rivera-Wagner called the expanded caucus a “reflection of what has always been true for Green Bay and for Wisconsin.”

“The LGBTQ community has always been here, has been present, has been living our lives and our politics are catching up, in part because we got fairer maps,” he said.

Rivera-Wagner said he wants to remove the clause in the Wisconsin Constitution defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that made the clause moot.

“Our constitution still has the language that could someday, in some extreme measure — unfortunately, extremism is rising — could potentially be reinvoked,” he said.

Democrats tried unsuccessfully to remove that clause during the last legislative session.

Phelps said banning conversion therapy in Wisconsin is a priority for the caucus. An ongoing state Supreme Court case is deciding on Republicans’ power to block Gov. Tony Evers’s 2021 rule doing just that.

Cruz said her background — teaching fifth grade and leading Racine’s teachers — influences her thinking on LGBTQ+ questions. She said she encouraged her students to make “an effort to understand other human beings.”

“It’s largely a lesson in treating human beings with kindness, I think, and I don’t think that’s a bad place to start from when you’re legislating as well,” she said.

“Our caucus is focused on ways to bring Wisconsinites together,” she said.

The seven new members started their first terms in the State Capitol this month. They joined incumbent caucus members Sen. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, Sen. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine and Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton.