US: Wisconsin and Indiana same-sex marriage bans ruled unconstitutional

Sep 04 2014
Written by Katie Dupere

A three-judge panel has unanimously ruled that same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are unconstitutional.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals made the 3-0 decision Thursday.

In the decision, Judge Richard Posner called the cases “straightforward to decide.”

Posner said that lawyers defending the ban who argued that same-sex marriage isn’t needed for families because same-sex couples cannot reproduce presented an argument “so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously.”

Last week, the court heard arguments in the cases.

Legal briefs filed in preparation for the hearing were majority anti-gay, citing everything from political theory to social stability to biblical text.

Late last month, a federal judge ruled Indiana must recognise same-sex marriages performed in other states.

In July, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a state law providing benefits to same-sex couples in domestic partnerships did not violate the state’s ban on same-sex marriages.