Mar. 28, 2025 3p
(WGTD)---Legislators who attended a state budget listening session at Gateway in Racine this week got a pep talk of sorts from a 27-year-old Gateway Technical College student.
Rook Antczak is a member of the LGBTQ community.
Antczak first read statements from several friends who elected not to attend the hearing. Through Antczak, they spoke of tough times dealing with poverty, student loans, uncertainty over the availability of hormone replacement therapy and the chiseling away of LGBTQ rights.
Antczak then delivered this message: "We need lawmakers to actually stand up for us. No empty promises. No lip service. No quiet protests. We need action. We need to know you're on our side and see that you're on our side now more than ever. That goes for trans kids. Children of immigrants. People of color. People at risk of deportation. People at risk of hate crimes. People living in poverty. We all have human rights. That's not a matter of rhetoric. That's a matter of basic ethics."
The budget hearing featured several members of the Racine area’s Democratic legislative delegation.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer responded to Antczak. "I think it's real importan5t that we hear the realities of this moment. We know how fearful particularly the LGBTQ community is with what's going on at the federal level," she said.
Neubauer said she's grateful that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is in place to veto several anti-trans bills that were passed by the Republican-controlled Assembly last week.
Neubauer also said Democrats are in agreement that increasing funding for K-12 schools is a top priority as legislators tackle the next biennial budget.
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