Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Decision on Marriage Amendment Referendum: ACLU of Wisconsin Responds

Today, Christopher Ahmuty, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin issued the following statement in response to the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision affirming the lower court's ruling that the marriage amendment adopted by Wisconsin's voters in 2006 did not violate the separate amendment rule of the Wisconsin Constitution. This constitutional rule requires that voters must be able to vote separately on separate constitutional amendments.

Ahmuty said, "the Court wisely limited its analysis of the marriage amendment's two clauses, without trying to decide 'what legal statuses identical or substantially similar to marriage are prohibited by this [the second] clause…' The ACLU maintains that the marriage amendment's second clause only prohibits 'marriage by another name' which confers all the benefits, protections, and responsibilities of civil marriages. The Court's decision means the fight for recognition of same sex domestic relationships will continue to advance, a fight in which the ACLU will continue to participate vigorously.

"The ACLU of Wisconsin joined Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Fair Wisconsin in filing an amicus brief in McConkey v. Van Hollen."

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