Author Topic: Wisconsin: State office not accepting same-sex marriage certificates from counties  (Read 295 times)

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Offline EC

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Same-sex couples are having their marriage documents held up at the door of the Wisconsin state office that records them, raising further questions about the legal status of their unions.

For now, at least, Gov. Scott Walker's administration isn't accepting the same-sex marriage certificates that are being forwarded by county registers of deeds.

"The Wisconsin Department of Health Services Office of Vital Records has not rejected same-sex marriage licenses," state Health Services spokeswoman Jennifer Miller said in a statement. "They are being held until we receive legal guidance from the attorney general."

It's unclear what this means for the hundreds of gay and lesbian couples who have celebrated weddings following a Friday ruling by a federal judge striking down Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage.

More than two-thirds of the 72 county clerks in Wisconsin are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, with some clerks on Tuesday reversing decisions made on Monday to decline licenses for gay and lesbian couples.

A spokeswoman for Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who is defending the state's gay marriage ban in court, confirmed that the Department of Justice has been in touch with the state Vital Records office to provide legal guidance but declined to disclose any details, saying they were protected by attorney-client privilege.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_25934921/wisconsin-gay-marriage-45-counties-issue-licenses-27
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