UPDATE 1:55 pm: U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb denied Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s request for an immediate stay on all same-sex marriages in Wisconsin. Marriages will continue unless further action is taken by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed a federal appeal Monday on U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb’s decision to strike down Wisconsin’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Van Hollen also submitted an emergency request that Crabb order all same-sex marriages in the state to be halted until the appeal process is complete.
“There is absolutely no reason to allow Wisconsin’s county clerks to decide for themselves, on a county-by-county basis, who may and may not lawfully get married in this state,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
Crabb’s decision to invalidate Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage did not include an order for county clerks to allow same-sex marriages, leaving the decision up to the clerks and their attorneys.
The attorney general said his request for a stay, if granted, would alleviate “stress and legal uncertainty” caused by Crabb’s decision.
As of Monday afternoon, clerk’s offices in at least 47 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties have issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, while others have turned them away, according to a poll conducted by the Wisconsin State Journal.
State Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, said in a statement Van Hollen’s motions impede “the national tidal wave of equality that finally hit Wisconsin.”
“The attorney general should focus on the pressing issues of his office, not on defending unconstitutional laws that dehumanize our citizens and treat them like 2nd class citizens,” Taylor added.
Van Hollen also said he fully expects the U.S. Supreme Court to render a final decision on the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage in its next term.
