Things are heating up on the LGBT front in Wisconsin. Newly elected Gov. Scott Walker has quite a few of his constituents up in arms over his recent actions regarding unions of all sorts.
Despite a constitutional amendment passed in Wisconsin in 2006 banning same-sex marriage, in 2009 a bill was passed that set up a domestic partners registry and gave same-sex couples similar legal benefits to heterosexual couples. When the law went into effect, Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), a group that opposes marriage equality, filed a lawsuit claiming the new law is in direct violation of the ban passed in 2006.
Previous Gov. Jim Doyle was defending the domestic partners registry, but he is no longer in office. Gov. Walker wants to back out of the defense of the registry, and has filed a motion with the court to do so. In the motion, Gov. Walker's counsel wrote, “Governor Walker, in deference to the legal opinion of the attorney general that the domestic partner registry ... is unconstitutional, does not believe the public interest requires a continued defense of this law.”
Never fear! The registry won't be left undefended! Fair Wisconsin, a LGBT advocacy group, was able to get the court to grant it status as a party to the lawsuit.
Despite a constitutional amendment passed in Wisconsin in 2006 banning same-sex marriage, in 2009 a bill was passed that set up a domestic partners registry and gave same-sex couples similar legal benefits to heterosexual couples. When the law went into effect, Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), a group that opposes marriage equality, filed a lawsuit claiming the new law is in direct violation of the ban passed in 2006.
Previous Gov. Jim Doyle was defending the domestic partners registry, but he is no longer in office. Gov. Walker wants to back out of the defense of the registry, and has filed a motion with the court to do so. In the motion, Gov. Walker's counsel wrote, “Governor Walker, in deference to the legal opinion of the attorney general that the domestic partner registry ... is unconstitutional, does not believe the public interest requires a continued defense of this law.”
Never fear! The registry won't be left undefended! Fair Wisconsin, a LGBT advocacy group, was able to get the court to grant it status as a party to the lawsuit.
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