Rep. Madison Rejects Legislative Republicans’ Attacks on Trans Wisconsinites

MADISON – Today, Wisconsin’s Assembly passed a package of bills designed to target, attack, and dehumanize trans adults and young people in Wisconsin. Rep. Darrin Madison (D-10) voted against all four bills and supported his Democratic colleagues’ consistent, principled defense of trans, nonbinary and intersex Wisconsinites.

This floor session continued a trend of recent Wisconsin Assembly floor sessions entirely focused on conservative culture war issues, and not on the most urgent, material needs of the people of Wisconsin. For example, the Assembly has not held a committee hearing or scheduled a floor session discussion of any bill or resolution responding to the continuing threat of sudden federal funding freezes.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Madison joined a number of his colleagues to propose an Economic Justice Bill of Rights, highlighting the stark contrast between Republicans’ priorities, and those of the growing minority caucus.

Representative Madison (D-10) issued the following statement:

“Once again, we spent the public’s resources –and hours of time that could be better spent on people’s real, urgent needs– debating bills that will hurt and maybe kill vulnerable people. I shouldn’t have to say that trans people are valid, that trans kids deserve our love and support, or that schools and team sports should be inviting spaces that encourage growth and strength, not hate and fear. Thankfully, the vast majority of my Democratic colleagues voted against these proposals, and I was proud to join them.

This is continuing a worrying, exhausting trend this session. We have already dedicated hours and hours of floor session and committee hearing time to attacks on immigrants and refugees, heaping further harm on people who have been jailed or incarcerated, and now have dedicated almost an entire floor session to robbing trans kids and adults of their dignity and respect. This has to change.

Happily, the day wasn’t wholly wasted on persecution and partisan debate. This same morning, I joined many of my colleagues –including the three other members of the Wisconsin Legislative Socialist Caucus, Rep. Francesca Hong, Rep. Ryan Clancy, and Rep. Christian Phelps– to propose an Economic Justice Bill of Rights. That resolution lays out a positive, forward-thinking, universal economic framework where everyone matters, everyone is entitled to a just economy and a clean environment, and our communities come first. I hope Legislative Republicans find time between culture wars to give it the hearing it deserves.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.