The dominoes continue to fall as Wisconsin joins the list of states where federal courts have ruled bans on same sex marriage to be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The full ruling can be viewed here. Those who oppose such rulings time and time again can offer no legitimate justification for such bans other than religious based animus and, by implication, the sick need of the Christofascists to maintain their superiority by keeping others inferior under the law. One can only hope that the tide of decisions striking down such bans continues. As of this past week, every state ban in America is under legal challenge or has been struck down and/or is pending appeal. Here are highlights from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
A federal judge in Madison on Friday overturned Wisconsin's gay marriage ban, striking down an amendment to the state constitution approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2006 and prompting an emergency action by the state to halt the scores of weddings that began in the state's two largest cities.
In the 88-page decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the prohibition on same-sex vows in the state violated the rights of gay and lesbian couples to equal protection under the federal constitution and fair treatment under the law.
She did not stay her ruling but also did not immediately issue an order blocking the enforcement of the ban, sparking a heated and hasty debate on whether the ruling meant that couples could immediately marry in the courthouses of Wisconsin.
"Quite simply, this case is about liberty and equality, the two cornerstones of the rights protected by the United States Constitution," Crabb wrote in her decision.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, said that "current law remains in force" in Wisconsin and took immediate action to try to halt the surge of gay couples seeking to wed, filing an emergency request for a stay from Crabb. Van Hollen could also file a similar motion before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, a Democrat, began issuing marriage licenses at 5 p.m. Friday as gay couples were married there throughout the night. He said state Department of Justice officials advised him not to issue the licenses but McDonell moved forward despite that.
"They don't get to tell me that," he said of DOJ. "A judge gets to....If someone comes to me, how could I say no to them?"
Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki, also a Democrat, issued marriage licenses through Friday night and planned to do so again on Saturday.
In her decision, Crabb said the state failed to show that the ban is "substantially related" to an important state goal. She questioned whether the state could even count as important public interests its stated goals of tradition, procreation and avoiding a "slippery slope" toward polygamy or incest.
She said that many other policies later found unconstitutional, such as segregation, were longstanding and popular among a majority of a state's voters.
[Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond], who believes there is a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry, called Crabb's decision the "most thorough and probably most careful" treatment of the issue and one that other judges would look to as they decide similar cases.
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