Heads Up: Wisconsin Supreme Court To Rule On Gay Marriage Ban

Many people in the state and around the country will be watching for this decision.  It is expected this week

I wrote on this matter in November 2009 and stated…

The issue at hand will not change the status of gay marriage in the state, but instead deals with the way the constitutional amendment was presented to the voters.  In short, voters must be asked separately about every change proposed to the constitution.  The problem with the  2006 amendment is that two separate questions were posed as one, and so voters were  not allowed to answer each one independent of the other.  As such, many in the state argue that the results of the vote need to be discarded.

The question before the voters in 2006 was as follows.  ““Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.  A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.””

The whole idea of denying civil rights and equality through the ballot box is one that I have much difficulty with, and I suspect most people when thinking this idea over thoughtfully will agree with me.  The whims of the voters should not be the basis for deciding who gets to marry and, and who does not.  But again, that is not the issue presently before the Supreme Court.  The case before the justices  however is one that impacts the integrity of our state. I would hope that the justices see this as a process question, and remind themselves that this is about far more than marriage.