Wisconsin court upholds domestic partnership registry

via The Washington Times:

Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry does not violate the state’s ban on gay marriage, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in a unanimous decision that gay rights activists hailed as an important but intermediate step in legalizing same-sex marriage.

Democratic lawmakers enacted the registry that provides limited benefits to same-sex couples in 2009, three years after Wisconsin voters approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

In the five years since, Wisconsin and the nation have seen “a monumental shift in marriage equality,” said Katie Belanger, president and CEO of Fair Wisconsin, the state’s largest gay rights organization. The group intervened in the case to defend the registry after Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, both Republicans, refused to do so.

via Alliance