Democrats Call For Same-Sex Marriage Ban Language To Be Removed From Constitution

Vos Accuses Dems Of Trying To Score Political Points

By
Shawn Johnson/WPR

Assembly Democrats say it’s time to remove Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban from the state’s Constitution after the landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban was overturned in federal court last year, but last week’s decision by the Supreme Court was the final say: Justices ruled 5-4 that no state can prevent same-sex couples from marrying.

Beloit Democratic Rep. Mark Spreitzer said Monday it’s time now to give voters a chance to remove Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban language from the the state’s Constitution.

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“And I think it’s critical that we do that, because if we leave this in place — even though this language is not enforceable as a matter of law — it would really be an embarrassment to the state of Wisconsin if this discriminatory language continued to be part of our state Constitution, which is really a statement of our values going forward,” said Spreitzer.

Two consecutive sessions of the Legislature would first have to pass a resolution to put that question on the ballot. Early signs suggest that’s unlikely. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Democrats were merely trying to score political points.

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