Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony
Evers on Monday, his first day in office, signed an executive order
prohibiting discrimination in state employment and state contracting
on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) praised
Ever's action.
“Discrimination in any form is wrong,
and through his actions today – signing his first executive order
since taking office – Governor Evers continues to demonstrate that
he will fight day in and day out to uphold the Wisconsin values of
fairness, justice and equality,” HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy
Strout said in a statement.
“We were proud to turn out LGBTQ
voters in November to help elect Evers, and thank Fair Wisconsin for
their ongoing work to end anti-LGBTQ discrimination across our state.
We look forward to working with the Evers Administration and Fair
Wisconsin to pass legislation that will finally safeguard protections
for transgender Wisconsinites, who are still denied basic and
explicit protections from discrimination in the workplace, housing
and public spaces,” she added.
Wisconsin was the first state in the
United States to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination based
on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing and public
accommodations. However, the state lacks similar protections based
on gender identity or expression.