Lafayette County Clerk, Linda Bawden, issued a marriage license for the first time to a same-sex couple on Monday, Oct. 6 at around 10 a.m.
    This comes in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, Oct. 6, to not hear cases involving appeals from five states, including Wisconsin, to uphold their bans on same-sex marriage.
    On Friday, June 6, Judge Barbara Crabb of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that Wisconsin’s Marriage Protection amendment to the state constitution was unconstitutional, causing confusion on the legality of same-sex marriage throughout the state for about a week, until Crabb issued a stay on her ruling, effectively halting same-sex marriages, until state officials, including Wisconsin attorney general J.B. Van Hollen could pursue an appeal.
    Crabb’s decision was then upheld by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, Sept. 4, causing Van Hollen to take the matter before the Supreme Court.
    “We defended the state’s marriage protection amendment in court,” said Van Hollen in a press release Monday. “That was our obligation and our attorneys did so admirably, regardless of whether they agreed with the underlying policy question.”
    “The Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision holding Wisconsin’s Marriage Protection Amendment unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court has declined the opportunity to examine that decision,” said the press release. “It is now our obligation to comply with those court decisions.”
    Van Hollen then encouraged everyone to respect the court’s action and administer the law fairly and impartially.
    “Among other things, the District Court requires all state actors to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage,” said the press release.
    The four other state appeals that the Supreme Court declined to hear included: Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.