David E. Clarenbach

26, 1953. Passage of historic 1982 Wisconsin Gay Rights measure In 1982, then Wisconsin State Rep. David Clarenbach along with Milwaukee gay activist Leon Rouse and others were widely credited with helping push through the first law in the country which prohibited discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. It was a landmark achievement for Wisconsin and the nation.

Clarenbach and Rouse were regarded as the two most important figures in that historic drive for equal rights in Wisconsin.