Litigation

WI Gay Marriage Ban Upheld

By Peter Hardin

The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously rejected Wednesday a legal challenge to the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions.

In a 7-0 opinion, the high court agreed with a lower court ruling that the constitutional amendment was put properly before voters in a referendum in November 2006, according to an Associated Press article.

A lawsuit had contended that the referendum question improperly included two sections, one on gay marriage and one on civil unions, and that lawmakers had violated a rule limiting referendum questions to a single topic, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Both sentences “carry out the same general purpose of preserving the legal status of marriage in Wisconsin as between only one man and one woman,” Justice Michael Gableman wrote.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 30, 2010 (boomark / email).