"I take this oath of office today under protest to the passage of the constitutional amendment... This amendment besmirches our Constitution...."

At least ten members of the Madison Common Council chose not to sign a supplementary statement on their official oaths of office on Tuesday afternoon. The statement pledges opposition to the Wisconsin marriage amendment adopted last fall.

Oh, aren't you righteous? And I suppose when the next guy comes along and withholds his commitment to some part of the Constitution that he dissents from, you'll say it's not the same, because the part he doesn't like doesn't besmirch it.

But let's congratulate Eli Judge, who is chair of Students for a Fair Wisconsin, opposing the marriage amendment, "who publicly identif[ies] as 'gay'" and is "usually considered a sure-fire 'statement-er.'" He took the oath, unqualified, and writes:

I will continue to fight the ban, prejudice, or hate against any community until the day I die. I simply do not feel the need to declare that truth in the same breath by which I am put into public office.

UPDATE: Members of the County Board back away from their planned protest and say they were influenced by Eli Judge's position.