Groups and Politicians Respond to Supreme Court's Decision to Turn Away Appeals Banning Same-Sex Marriage
Tuesday, October 7th, 2014 -- 8:22 AM
-With the Supreme Court?s decision to turn away appeals prohibiting same-sex marriage, many groups and politicians responded.The Supreme Court turned away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit same-sex marriages, paving the way for an immediate expansion of gay and lesbian unions. The justices on Monday did not comment in rejecting appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's Republican attorney general has conceded the fight to preserve the state's gay marriage ban and encourages everyone to now administer the law "fairly and impartially." Van Hollen says in a statement that the state's attorneys "admirably" defended the ban "whether they agreed with the underlying policy question." He continued, "I encourage everyone to respect the court's action and to administer the law fairly and impartially."
The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, Larry Dupuis, said the appeal was a ?watershed moment? and called the decision "life-saving news for same-sex couples."
Governor Scott Walker also said the state will honor same-sex marriages as required by the court ruling and his Democratic opponent, Mary Burke says the court's action is an important step forward for the state. She says no loving, committed couple should ever be denied the freedom to marry.
The decision has also left county clerks and other public officials in Wisconsin scrambling to figure out how to respond. Some officials are meeting with their county attorneys to determine how to proceed.
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