Wisconsin

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb struck down Wisconsin's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. “'Quite simply, this case is about liberty and equality, the two cornerstones of the rights protected by the United States Constitution,' U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote in her Friday ruling," according to the Journal. Crabb also wrote that, "'If the state is going to deprive an entire class of citizens of a right as fundamental as marriage, then it must do more than say, ‘this is the way it has always been’ or ‘we’re not ready yet.'"
 

Kristen Hansen, with the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Journal, "'We just don't think that the majority should vote on the civil rights of the minority.'"

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit today to challenge that state's ban on same-sex marriage on the grounds that it violates same-sex couples their right to equal protection under the law, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. "'Lesbians and gay men in Wisconsin are denied the freedom afforded to different-sex couples in this state to have their loving, committed relationships recognized through marriage,'" the parties' complaint argues.
 

The Associated Press reports that Wisconsin has enacted a law to make it harder for public schools to be forced to drop American Indian mascots and nicknames. A 2010 law required " Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction to hold a hearing on a school's race-based nickname if it received even one complaint," according to the AP. Now complainants must submit a petition with signatures equal to 10 percent of the school district's student body in order to trigger a departmental review.

Republican Governor Scott Walker said in a statement that he supported moving away from offensive nicknames and mascots, but that he signed the law because "I am very concerned about the principle of free speech enshrined in our U.S. Constitution. If the state bans speech that is offensive to some, where does it stop?" 

Ho Chunk Nation heritage preservation executive director Robert Mann, however, asked in an interview with the AP: "It'd be freedom of speech for who? I guess that's what you'd want to ask."

The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral argments last week in a case in which conservative plaintiffs argue the state's domestic partner registry violates the state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a conservative-leaning majority, The Associated Press reported. The registry gives legal rights to same-sex couples like "the right to visit each other in hospitals and make end-of-life decisions for each other," the AP also reported.