Courts unlikely to strike down new domestic partner registry until after it begins

Posted on July 25, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized

An attorney for those hoping to strike down Wisconsin’s new legal protections for domestic partners says he hopes the Supreme Court will decide their request in a matter of weeks.

But by then, gay couples will have already started registering at county courthouses for the benefits. Those sign-ups begin a week from Monday.

Three members of the Wisconsin Family Action group asked the Supreme Court yesterday to declare the domestic partner registry unconstitutional.

They say it violates the constitutional amendment against gay marriage and civil unions which group members helped pass in 2006.

The group calls it an effort to redefine marriage in Wisconsin. But a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, who included the registry in the new state budget, says it’s just a set of basic protections, and it has nothing to do with promoting gay marriage.

Four of the seven justices would have to agree to take the case, and their new session does not begin until September.

See Courts unlikely to strike down new domestic partner registry until … Hudson Star Observer

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