Most Wisconsin Counties Are Issuing Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples

An Associated Press count of Wisconsin’s 72 county clerks has found that 49 of them are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Clerks are making their own decisions whether or not to issue licenses after U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb declared Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional last week, though Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says the ban is still in place since Crabb didn’t issue an order halting enforcement.

Sawyer County Clerk Lolita Olson is among the 27 clerks who are not issuing licenses. She said her decision has nothing to do with politics.

“Once the law is clear, we will definitely be doing whatever is stated as the law,” said Olson. “For some of these people who are getting married right now, I’m not sure if they’re going to be in limbo here for a while.”

So far, no one has applied for a same-sex marriage license in Sawyer County.

Olson said she’ll wait for the outcome of a hearing scheduled before Crabb June 19.

Editor’s Note: The broadcast version of this story said that 45 counties were issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. That number has since increased.