News & Commentary

By Shereen Siewert, Gannett Wisconsin

By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER

In 2006, Wisconsin Referendum 1 passed, and became Article XIII, Section 13 of the state constitution.  It banned same-sex marriage, saying “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.”

MADISON, Wis. — A federal judge on Friday put same-sex marriages in Wisconsin on hold, a week after she struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional, a move that allowed more than 500 couples to wed over the last eight days. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb’s ruling Friday means that gay marriages will end while the appeal from Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hol

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Is vote fraud common in American politics? Not according to United States District Judge Lynn Adelman, who examined the evidence from Wisconsin and ruled in late April that “virtually no voter impersonation occurs” in the state and that “no evidence suggests that voter-impersonation fraud will become a problem at any time in the foreseeable future.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has urged same-sex couples to continue marrying, despite fears that a marriage ban could be put back in place.

Garth Wangemann and Roy Badger don't want a big ceremony. No tuxedos, no receptions — just a nice dinner with a friend so the Riverwest couple can celebrate a marriage they long thought would not be recognized.