On the same day that plaintiffs in North Dakota sued the state over America's last unchallenged gay marriage ban, a federal judge struck down Wisconsin's law against same-sex marriage.
"We've been together for 25 years, and I kept telling myself that it wouldn't matter and it wouldn't change anything. But after our reaction today, it changes everything." (Via WLUK)
In her ruling, federal judge Barbara Crabb stated that Wisconsin's 2006 constitutional amendment barring gay marriages from being recognized infringed on the Fourteenth Amendment rights of same-sex couples. (Via WISC-TV)
Although the ruling didn't specify whether same-sex marriage ceremonies would be immediately recognized, several county clerk offices stayed open late as dozens of couples flocked in to tie the knot. (Via The Cap Times)
Wisconsin's Attorney General has asked for an emergency order to stay Crabb's ruling, and says he will appeal the decision.
Also Friday, seven couples in North Dakota have challenged their state's gay marriage ban, arguing it "inflict[s] serious and irreparable harms upon same-sex couples and their children that cannot be explained by reference to any legitimate governmental interest." (Via U.S. District Courts)
As The Washington Post points out, every state has now had their ban on gay marriage overturned or challenged in court. "As of last Thursday, there were 80 pending lawsuits involving the marriage laws of 32 states and Puerto Rico. ... The majority of those were in federal court, where no ban has survived a challenge since a key Supreme Court decision last summer."
Same-sex marriage is currently recognized in 18 states and the District of Columbia, while the issue is still contested legally in the remaining 32 states.
