After a federal judge struck down the ban on same-sex marriage in Wisconsin’s constitution Friday, couples flocked to courthouses and city halls around the state for long-awaited marriage licenses.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb declared the state’s 2006 ban on same-sex marriage to be federally unconstitutional in her decision on a lawsuit against the ban filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“Marriage is tied to our sense of self, personal autonomy and public dignity,” Crabb said in her decision. “And perhaps more than any other endeavor, we view marriage as essential to the pursuit of happiness, one of the inalienable rights in our Declaration of Independence.”
Crabb wrote in her decision the ban on same-sex marriage violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the federal Constitution.
Shortly after the decision was released, couples began lining up at the Office of the City Clerk in Madison. Volunteer circuit court judges waited outside Madison’s city hall to perform marriages.
Shari Roll and Renee Currie, a couple of 14 years, were the first couple to be married in Madison Friday. Dane County Clerk Mike Quieto officiated their wedding and state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, served as an official witness.
“In the eyes of your community and, finally, in the eyes of the law, you are a married couple,” Quieto said to close the ceremony.
Roll said the day felt surreal as she and Currie waited in line for a marriage license and added there was initially some confusion at the clerk’s office about the process. ACLU Development Director Kristin Hansen said the confusion occurred because Crabb’s decision was not as specific as some had hoped it would be.
“[Crabb] said the ban is unconstitutional,” Hansen said at a press conference Friday. “She did not include with that any specific instructions to clerks of court. That left it up to them and their attorneys to decide whether or not they think they can issue licenses, as there is no longer a constitutional amendment standing in their way.”
At Madison’s city hall, in a crowd of couples in varying stages of marriage, Dane County Municipal Court Judge Marjorie Scheutt said she had no doubt about what the decision meant for Wisconsin.
“It is legal today,” Scheutt said. “It is the law. We have a decision.”
Scheutt said she and other judges had anticipated the ruling for several weeks, and that they were ready to volunteer their time to perform marriages as soon as a decision was rendered.
“They have been thinking this was going to come down on a Friday for the last two weekends,” Scheutt said. “I cannot speak for Judge Crabb, but the thought was that people would be able to marry all weekend, and, if there is a stay, it would happen Monday. So this might be a very short window where people can get married.”
In response to Crabb’s decision, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed an emergency request for temporary stay, halting all same-sex marriages in the state and asking Crabb to clarify her decision.
“While today’s decision is a setback, we will continue to defend the constitutionality of our traditional marriage laws and the constitutional amendment, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “I will appeal.”
The attorney general filed a request last week asking Crabb to place an injunction halting same-sex marriages until the Department of Justice can file an appeal if she struck down the ban. It was denied.
Van Hollen added he expects the United States Supreme Court to submit a ruling during its next term to “give finality to this issue.”
Hansen said the ACLU shares Van Hollen’s hope for a clear nationwide decision.
“As of now not a single federal judge has ruled against marriage equality in any of these cases,” Hansen said. “We hope that it comes to the Supreme Court sooner than later.”
Crabb’s decision gives the state until June 16 to submit a proposed injunction to stop further marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples. Unless such an injunction is ordered, couples like Keith Borden and Johannes Wallmann, plaintiffs in the ACLU’s case, may marry and celebrate their victory.
Borden, whose Canadian marriage to his husband may now be recognized in Wisconsin, said at the press conference he believes Friday’s decision is about more than marriage licenses.
“To live honestly, to live authentically and to show people that it can be done, that change really can happen, is the absolute greatest feeling and the greatest gift we can give each other,” Borden said.
