MADISON, Wis. — Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same-sex marriage. If passed into law, the legislation would protect marriage equality for millions after the Supreme Court’s appalling Dobbs ruling.

In Wisconsin, radical Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels has supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and has reiterated his belief that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

Michels has repeatedly dodged journalists and bent over backwards to avoid answering questions about his radical views on protecting marriage equality.

This isn’t Michels first rodeo — he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 touting the same discriminatory views about marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights. In that run, Michels made inflammatory comments that he doesn’t believe LGTBQ+ people should “bring it out of [the] house” and that people shouldn’t have “gay values” imposed upon them.

Rebecca Kleefisch also has extreme views on same-sex marriage — including that it is a slippery slope that could lead to “marrying inanimate objects” like clocks and tables. She also compared gay marriage to humans marrying dogs.

Wisconsin Republicans are living in the past by supporting a constitutional ban on marriage equality. They are targeting Wisconsinites’ freedoms to make their own health care decisions or marry the person that they love — views that the majority of Wisconsinites reject.

Support for marriage equality has steadily increased in recent years, and according to an April 2022 Marquette Law School poll, 72% of Wisconsinites support same-sex marriage. By partisan group, 82% of Independents and 58% of Republicans now support same-sex marriage.

“Tim Michels is recycling his talking points from 2004 and staking out the most radical position on same-sex marriage he can,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Hannah Menchhoff. “Wisconsinites today overwhelmingly support marriage equality, including 58% of Republicans. It’s no surprise that the extreme Republicans running for governor are all out of step with voters. Tim Michels continues to prove that he is too radical for Wisconsin.

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