With the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear the seven same-sex marriage cases on their docket, the stays in each of the seven states were lifted, effectively legalizing gay marriage in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin. Ever since a Wisconsin constitutional amendment which stated, “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid ... as a marriage in this,” was approved by voters in 2006, gay marriage has been illegal in Wisconsin. This stood until 2014, when the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Gov. Scott Walker challenging the amendment. It was ruled that the ban was unconstitutional. The state appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, where Oct. 6 they denied review of the case. The right to marry is a fundamental right that has been denied to same-sex couples. Public opinion has shifted in Wisconsin, with 55 percent in favor of same-sex marriage, so the opinion that approved the amendment is not even relevant anymore. With the Supreme Court’s statement, Gov. Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen are required to accept the circuit court’s decision. As progressivism has been an integral part of this state’s history, the decision only substantiates Wisconsin’s motto: forward.
