MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Celebration ceremonies are planned for 5 p.m. in Milwaukee and Madison, after the U.S. Supreme Court Friday morning made gay marriage legal nationwide.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced the gatherings, after the justices ruled that same-sex couples can marry in 14 more states and Washington D-C — in addition to the 36 states where gay marriage was already legal.
The Supreme Court made it legal in Wisconsin last fall, after it refused to consider overturning an appellate court ruling which struck down the state’s 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions.
Governor Scott Walker, an opponent of same-sex marriage, released this statement:
“I believe this Supreme Court decision is a grave mistake. Five unelected judges have taken it upon themselves to redefine the institution of marriage, an institution that the author of this decision acknowledges ‘has been with us for millennia.’ In 2006 I, like millions of Americans, voted to amend our state constitution to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism. The states are the proper place for these decisions to be made, and as we have seen repeatedly over the last few days, we will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our land without injecting their own political agendas. As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage.
Recognizing that our Founders made our Constitution difficult to amend, I am reminded that it was first amended to protect our ‘First Freedom’ – the free exercise of religion. The First Amendment does not simply protect a narrow ‘right to worship,’ but provides broad protection to individuals and institutions to worship and act in accordance with their religious beliefs. In fact, the Wisconsin constitution explicitly protects the rights of conscience of our citizens. I can assure all Wisconsinites concerned about the impact of today’s decision that your conscience rights will be protected, and the government will not coerce you to act against your religious beliefs.
I call on the president and all governors to join me in reassuring millions of Americans that the government will not force them to participate in activities that violate their deeply held religious beliefs. No one wants to live in a country where the government coerces people to act in opposition to their conscience. We will continue to fight for the freedoms of all Americans.”
As a likely GOP White House candidate, Walker recently said the issue should be left up to the states — and he supported a U.S. constitutional amendment to let states define marriage for themselves.
Friday, the Supreme Court ruled against four states which argued that their bans were justified — Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The vote was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts ruling against legalization along with Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito.
Wisconsin ACLU legal director Larry Dupuis called Friday’s ruling a victory, saying every committed couple in the U.S. can now enjoy “the freedom to marry, protect their loved ones, and have their commitment honored by the legal system.”
House Democrat Marc Pocan of Madison, who’s in a same-sex marriage, called the ruling an “historic step” toward equality.
State Assembly Republican Jeremy Thiesfeldt of Fond du Lac accused the nation’s highest court of bowing to public pressure, saying it created a “right” that doesn’t exist in the U.S. Constitution.
Former state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen tried making a similar argument fall, but it didn’t prevail. Thiesfeldt said Friday’s decision was made in a similar manner as the 1973 Roe-v-Wade decision that legalized abortion — and he said it would only add to what he called the “deepening political divide” in the U.S.
Thiesfeldt also said Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry should be repealed, the 2009 Democratic law which granted about 40 percent of the same rights that married couples have.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
