Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down DP Challenge

[ccharles000]

Just in from ACLU of Wisconsin:


Wisconsin Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge To Domestic Partnership Registry

Committed Couples Can Continue To Enjoy Limited Protections Offered By Registry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 4, 2009
CONTACT:
Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project, 212-549-2673
Larry Dupuis, ACLU of Wisconsin, 414-272-4032, ext. 12

MADISON, WI - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to dismiss a challenge to the state's recently-enacted domestic partnership registry. The Court also rejected a request from board members of Wisconsin Family Action that the
registry be declared unconstitutional and put indefinitely on hold. The ACLU represents five same-sex couples who asked to be allowed to participate in the case.


"The registry certainly doesn't offer anywhere close to the protections that marriage would, but we're grateful that the couples we represented
can at least hang onto the limited legal protections it gives them, such as the ability to visit each other in the hospital," said John Knight, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project.

Board members of Wisconsin Family Action had asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to strike down the domestic partner law as inconsistent with the
amendment to the state constitution that bans same-sex couples from marriage. The dismissal of the case by the Wisconsin Supreme Court means
that these petitioners may not begin their case in the Wisconsin Supreme Court but may re-file their case in a circuit court (lower court), where
both sides will be able to have a trial and present evidence to support their cases.

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13953/wisconsin-supreme-court-strikes-down-dp-challenge

[MattBaggins]

1. I can not even begin to fathom how people could hate gays so much

that they would deny them the right to visit one another in a hospital.

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. K&R n/t

[aikoaiko]

3. I should know better by now, but everytime I see DP I think "Deep Penetration"?

and wonder what the courts are saying about it.

[dragonlady]

4. "Strikes down" is not really accurate, unfortunately

The court just refused to take the case in its current form. As the OP states, the claim could be refiled in a lower court. More information here:

The law took effect in August, allowing gay couples to register with counties so they could get about 40 of the 150 rights afforded married couples, such as hospital visitation rights. Before the law took effect, Julaine Appling and others from Wisconsin Family Action asked the high court to strike down the law, saying it violated the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage and substantially similar arrangements.

The court decided Tuesday not to take the case, but did not say why. It rarely takes cases filed directly to the court, allowing most cases to come to it from lower courts.

Appling and the others are considering suing over the matter in Dane County Circuit Court, said their attorney, Rick Esenberg.

The order was issued Tuesday but not released until Wednesday. The order was made the same day the court heard arguments from a Door County resident who wants the court to throw out the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/69162072.html

The case referred to in the last paragraph claims that the amendment was passed in an unconstitutional way because two separate items were included in the referendum question (forbidden by the Wisconsin constitution). It would be wonderful if the court agrees with this, but that is by no means certain to happen. If the amendment is voided, the anti-gay forces would probably want to try again with a properly worded question. However, in the few years since the first referendum, gay rights have been making progress in various states. Who knows how a second election would turn out?