STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) -- Less than ten of Wisconsin’s 72 counties are not issuing same sex marriage licenses. One of them is Portage County.
County Clerk Shirley Simonis wants to issue the licenses, but says the law is unclear and Judge Barbara Crabb’s decision a week ago left confusion and uncertainty. She says until the courts direction is clear, her oath of office is to uphold the law to the best of her ability.
That decision isn’t sitting well with some of the residents in a county known for a strong base of Democratic party voters and liberal politics. Keith Kitsembels and Allen Rasmussen are a Portage County couple that was turned down for a same sex marriage license. They plan to have a peaceful sit-in protest starting at 10:00 a.m. Friday.
Technically, Wisconsin’s Constitutional ban of same sex marriages is still on the books even though some judges say it’s federally unconstitutional. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is still fighting to uphold that law, and says clerks could be charged in court for issuing same sex marriage licenses right now.
Simonis is hoping Judge Crabb’s hearing Friday afternoon gives her and other clerks the clarity and direction needed to move forward.
(Link to Wisconsin statute on marriage)