PLEASE MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 
YOUR HELP URGENTLY NEEDED TO PROTECT MARRIAGE, FAMILIES AND ESPECIALLY MINOR CHILDREN!

Tip for better viewing of this e-mail on a mobile device: Turn your phone to landscape orientation.

Friday, January 17, 2020
 

Dear John,

We need your help now to protect marriage, family and especially minor children!  Your voice can make a powerful difference on this issue.

AB 439 is a bill that completely eliminates the waiting period after a divorce is finalized before a remarriage by either person involved in the divorce. Currently, Wisconsin has an excellent and reasonable waiting period of 6 months. That waiting period is primarily to make sure the husband and wife both have some time to heal and restore from the dissolution of their marriage before beginning another one and also--and likely most critically--for minor children who are impacted by both the divorce and any remarriage. You can find out much more about the background on this bill and talking points on why Wisconsin Family Action opposes it HERE. The bill is authored by Republicans (Rep. Cindy Duchow from Pewaukee and Sen. Alberta Darling from River Hills and supported/co-sponsored by a significant number of Republican lawmakers, in addition to Democrat legislators. 

At the public hearing on September 24, 2019, I did something I've never done before in a hearing: I offered a compromise, largely because so many Republicans support it and it was obvious the bill was purposefully being fast-tracked. My compromise offer had two ideas:  1) Keep a waiting period for everyone rather than eliminate it completely; but reduce the time from 6 months to 3 months; 2) Keep a waiting period of some sort for couples with minor children.  To date no lawmaker has offered any amendment to do either of these suggestions.  I confess I'm not sure why they are dead-set to do this bill, but apparently they are. The Senate has held a public hearing on it and an Executive Session and voted in favor of it being given a vote in the full Senate. As of today, the bill is still in the Senate Organization Committee, which is where bills go awaiting a floor vote in that house. It could be put on an agenda at any time in the Senate.

Yesterday, we learned the Assembly has added AB 439 to its calendar for a vote on the floor this coming Tuesday, January 21. This bill would not be on there unless Assembly leadership was confident they have the votes. That's profoundly sad to me. There is simply no good reason for this bill, at least in its current unamended form. Apparently, a lot of Republicans really are not interested in what is in the best interest of minor children. They are more interested in sacrificing that on the altar of adult desires and their perceived happiness.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:

If you agree with us that Wisconsin should retain a waiting period (and we would argue that there is really no good reason to change what we currently have--6 months), I am urging you to contact your state representative and let him or her know you oppose this bill and encourage them to vote NO on this bill on Tuesday, January 21. The most effective way to contact your representative is by phone, but email can work as well.  You can find out who represents you HERE, along with full contact information. Just put your address in the area "Who Are My Legislators?" area on the home page.

Thank you for taking time to contact your representative. One other action step you could take is to forward this email to others who share your values, asking them to join you in contacting their representative.  If you would be so kind as to send me a quick email to let me know you contacted your representative, I would be grateful.

For families,







Julaine K. Appling
President, Wisconsin Family Action