All marriage licenses issued after U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb struck down Wisconsin’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in June, will be legally recognized, Gov. Scott Walker announced Monday.
Roughly 500 marriages were performed in the week following Crabb’s ruling, before she stayed her decision pending appeal.
"Per the guidance from the Department of Justice … the state will be treating licenses issued in June as valid marriage licenses," Walker spokesperson Laurel Patrick said in an email.
Walker’s order comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week to decline to hear the state’s appeal to reinstate the ban, effectively making same-sex marriage legal in Wisconsin.
“We are pleased that the State of Wisconsin is doing the right thing and recognizing these marriages,” Larry Dupuis, legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin said in a statement. “We expect the State to move quickly and assertively to make the promise of marriage equality a practical reality in Wisconsin.”
