Rainbow bLAWg

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), champions in fighting for the rights of Americans, is going to federal court today in Wisconsin on behalf of four same-sex couples in the state.

While attempting to overturn the state’s seven-year old ban on gay marriage, they are also challenging the state’s “marriage evasion law,” which makes it a crime to “leave the state to contract a marriage that is prohibited or void” in Wisconsin.

The lead plaintiff’s in the case were married in Minnesota and are now forced to choose between the risk of criminal prosecution or foregoing access to any federal spousal protection. They have been together for 38 years and raised two children together.

The lawsuit, which names Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen as defendants, is asking the state to justify the unjust treatment of same-sex married couples for reasons other than sexual orientation and sex.

This will be the first case heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes federal courts in Wisconsin as well as Illinois and Indiana.

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Carrie Stone