Wisconsin: Federal Judge denies Attorney General request for stay on marriage equality ruling

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb denied Wisconsin Attorney General's request to stay her ruling issued last Friday which declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.


Crabb indicated that a stay could be issued at some point, but she scheduled a hearing for June 19th to hear both sides thoughts on the implications of a stay.

"I will consider a stay as to what's in the (final order,) but I'm not going to act today," Crabb said at a Monday afternoon hearing.

For the time being, some counties will continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex oouples. Dane, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties have issued over 200 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, while others like Washington and Racine say they await more definitive orders.

From the Journal Sentinel:

Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, a Democrat, stepped out of Crabb's hearing Monday and said he would continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"The status quo is what we're doing now and (19) other counties, which is issuing marriage licenses," McDonell told reporters.

Backing up McDonell was David Gault, an assistant corporation counsel in Dane County, which is controlled by a Democratic county executive and liberal county board. Gault said Crabb's decision Friday was "unambiguous" and that there is no prohibition on same-sex couples getting married.

"We're not speculating," he said. "We're following the black letter of her decision."

Wisconsin law dictates that you must apply for a marriage license in the county with which a you live. So, couples in Washington county, for example, are still blocked from getting married until Crabb issues final orders on the ruling.

Attorney General JB Van Hollen has also filed a request for stay with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

(source)