Wisconsin same-sex marriage ban struck down as unconstitutional
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Version 0 of 1. A federal judge has struck down Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling it unconstitutional. US district judge Barbara Crabb issued the ruling on Friday, though it wasn't clear whether same-sex marriages could immediately begin. The ruling makes Wisconsin the 27th state where same-sex couples can marry under law or where a judge has ruled they ought to be allowed to wed. Clerks in the state's two largest cities of Milwaukee and Madison had been preparing for such a ruling by bringing in extra staff to handle an expected flood of marriage-license applicants. The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of eight same-sex couples. Republican Governor Scott Walker, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, has been a strong proponent of the constitutional same-sex marriage ban that was approved by state voters in 2006. |