One week after overturning
Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban, Federal Judge Barbara Crabb has issued (June
14) a stay on her initial ruling (June 7), ending (for now) same-sex marriages
in the state. Crabb cited the Herbert
decision by the US Supreme Court wherein the court ordered a stay in a similar
case in Utah. “[A] federal district court
is required to follow the guidance provided by the Supreme Court,” she wrote. “Because I see no way to distinguish this case
from Herbert, I conclude that I must
stay any injunctive relief pending appeal.”
She also cited the confusion among county clerks as to the legitimacy of
issuing same-sex licenses as a further reason to issue a full stay.
Milwaukee and Dane counties
immediately began issuing licenses June on 7th. Many county clerks initially refused to do so,
but then caved to pressure from homosexual activists. Eventually, only 12 of the 72 counties stood
their ground, following the directives of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen,
stating that, “County clerks do not have authority under Wisconsin law to issue
same-sex marriage licenses.”
Van Hollen issued a statement after
Judge Crabb’s decision to stay her ruling expressing gratefulness. “I am very pleased that Judge Crabb has … fully
stayed her ruling,” he said. “She has
confirmed that Wisconsin’s law regarding same-sex marriage remains in full
force and effect … ”
Van Hollen is appealing the ruling
to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. While the appeals process could potentially
take years to decide, many expect that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately
render a decision on the issue much sooner from a state that is further along
in the appeals process than Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is the 15th consecutive
state in the last year to watch its homosexual marriage ban struck down by a
federal judge’s pen. The state’s constitutional
amendment, solidifying that marriage is between one man and one woman, passed
overwhelmingly (59-41%) by Wisconsin voters in 2006.
“It’s very sad that something
approved by voters and represented as the law in every state for the first 200-years
of the Republic is all of a sudden declared unconstitutional,” lamented
Wisconsin State Senator Glenn Grothman following Crabb’s initial ruling. “This will further the complete lack of
respect that the public has for the judiciary.”
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a national
policy advocacy group based in Washington D.C., likewise issued a public
statement on Crabb’s ruling. “The
courts, for all their power, can’t overturn natural law,” he said. “What they can do is incite a movement of
indignant Americans, who are tired of seeing the foundations of a free and just
society destroyed by a handful of black-robed tyrants.”
Judge Crabb has received criticism
in the past for what many perceive as judicial activism. She was reprimanded by a higher court in 2010
for unsuccessfully trying to strike down the National Day of Prayer as
unconstitutional.
Governor Scott Walker has largely
been silent following Crabb’s latest ruling.
Some in the state are calling for
Walker to respond, contrasting Walker’s silence with responses like that from
Texas Governor Rick Perry after their marriage amendment was attacked by a
federal judge in February, “[I]t is not the role of the federal government to
overturn the will of our citizens. The 10th Amendment guarantees Texas voters
the freedom to make these decisions, and this is yet another attempt to achieve
via the courts what couldn’t be achieved via the ballot box,” Perry wrote in an
official statement. “We will continue to
fight for the rights of Texans to self-determine the laws of our state.”
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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