Update: Same-sex couples denied licenses despite ruling
Sari Lesk
STEVENS POINT – Portage County is not issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after this week's ruling that the state's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional, but gay couples are hopeful that their time to wed is drawing near.
Wisconsin's ban was adopted in 2006 and ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb in June. Immediately after that ruling, almost all Wisconsin counties began issuing gay-marriage licenses, though Portage County did not.
A three-judge appeals court on Thursday upheld Crabb's decision in a scathing indictment of Wisconsin's ban, but licenses will not be issued for 21 days, allowing time for Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to fulfill his pledge to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
County Clerk Shirley Simonis said the county, in accordance with the 21-day waiting period, will not issue licenses until the constitutionality is clear.
"We certainly wouldn't go against the law," Simonis said.
But Allen Rasmussen, Jr., a Stevens Point resident who is waiting to marry his fiance, described the court's ruling as a step forward and said he's willing to wait for a Supreme Court decision on the matter if it means ending the debate.
"I want them to appeal and the Supreme Court to say, 'Yes, they are not second-class citizens and they have the right to be married,'" he said. "I think as citizens that we have the right to be treated as any other person."
Denny Rosenthal, adviser for Stevens Point Area Senior High's Gay-Straight Alliance, said she was happy to see how quickly the ruling came down, just nine days after Crabb's decision. Such rulings often take months.
"Everybody deserves to marry whoever they would want to marry," she said.
A statement from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Thursday noted that the hold Crabb placed on gay marriages remains in effect.
"Article XIII, Sec. 13 of the Wisconsin Constitution limiting marriage to between one man and one woman as well as other related state laws are in full force and effect until this case is finally resolved by the United States Supreme Court," the statement said. "The status quo has not changed with today's ruling."
Sari Lesk can be reached at 715-345-2257. Follow her on Twitter as @Sari_Lesk.