WI Supreme Court Asked To Determine if Marriage Amendment Means What It Says

MADISON— Does Wisconsin’s marriage amendment permit the legislature to create a “domestic partnership” legal status that has the same procedures and requirements as marriage? That is the question the Wisconsin Supreme Court is being asked to address.

“The question essentially comes down to this: Does the marriage amendment mean what it says?” said Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Appling v. Doyle. “We have long said that we will continue to defend marriage, the state constitution, and the will of the people. This petition for review by the state’s highest court is the next step in that defense.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys and their local co-counsel, Mike Dean of First Freedoms Foundation and Richard M. Esenberg, filed the petition for review on behalf of Appling and other plaintiffs Tuesday.

With the exception that “domestic partners” receive a “declaration” rather than a “marriage license,” the process for same-sex couples seeking the legal status of “domestic partner” is identical to that of heterosexual couples seeking the legal status of “married”—ironically right down to requiring that people seeking either legal status be informed about fetal alcohol syndrome.

continue at Wisconsin Family Action