Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Gay Marriage Recognition Ban

Add Wisconsin to the states
where a federal judge has struck down a ban on gay marriage
recognition. Judge Barbara Crabb
has ruled that the constitutional amendment in Wisconsin
outlawing gay marriage recognition “violates planitiffs’
fundamental right to marry and their right to equal protection of
laws under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution.”

ABC affiliate WISN has the whole 88-page ruling
posted here. She notes in her conclusion:

In light of Windsor and the many decisions that have invalidated
restrictions on same-sex marriage since Windsor, it appears that
courts are moving toward a consensus that it is time to embrace
full legal equality for gay and lesbian citizens. Perhaps it is no
coincidence that these decisions are coming at a time when public
opinion is moving quickly in the direction of support for same-sex
marriage. …

Citing these changing public attitudes, defendants seem to
suggest that this case is not necessary because a majority of
Wisconsin citizens will soon favor same-sex marriage, if they do
not already … (citing article by Nate Silver predicting that 64%
of Wisconsinites will favor same-sex marriage by 2020). Perhaps it
is true that the Wisconsin legislature and voters would choose to
repeal the marriage amendment and amend the statutory marriage laws
to be inclusive of same-sex couples at some point in the future.
Perhaps it is also true that, if the courts had refused to act in
the 1950s and 1960s, eventually all states would have voted to end
segregation and repeal anti-miscegenation laws. Regardless, a
district court may not abstain from deciding a case because of a
possibility that the issues raised in the case could be resolved in
some other way at some other time.

The judge has given both sides 10 days to respond to the ruling
so it doesn’t seem as though the weddings are going to be happening
immediately. Wedding cakes in Wisconsin are made out of big cheese
wheels, right? So bakers with religious objections to gay marriage
shouldn’t be a problem.