The Rest of the Story

Here is the news article that my post below was based on.

Wisconsin law gives same-sex couples pause
Gays and lesbians who marry in California could face fines, imprisonment

NICOLE C. BRAMBILA • THE DESERT SUN • JULY 11, 2008

An archaic Wisconsin law could have lesbian and gay couples married in California paying a stiff $10,000 fine or behind bars, if district attorneys dust off the 1915 law.
That’s a big if, same-sex marriage proponents and opponents say.

“The law was not intended to do anything to quote, unquote, same-sex marriage because it wasn’t on anyone’s radar when it was written,” said Julaine Appling, CEO of Wisconsin Family Council.

“What’s the likelihood, in today’s political climate, of finding a district attorney to enforce the law?”

Formed in 1986 to advance traditional conservative Christian values, the Wisconsin Family Council supported the state’s 2006 Constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman.

Shannon Minter – legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who argued the same-sex marriage case before the California Supreme Court on behalf of the 14 couples and Equality California – agreed.

“It would be very mean-spirited and unprecedented if they whipped out that dusty law and tried to prosecute a gay or lesbian couple that’s trying to get married in California,” Minter said.

“I think it would be thrown out of court in short order.”

Based in San Francisco, the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a lawsuit after the Supreme Court nullified about 4,000 same-sex marriages in 2004 because state law limited marriage to heterosexuals. On May 15, the California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

The 1915 Wisconsin statute was originally crafted as part of the Uniform Marriage Evasion Act – adopted by four states including Massachusetts – to address, among other things, minors crossing the state line to get married.

Some states – such as Wisconsin and Delaware – impose criminal penalties on residents who enter a prohibited marriage outside the state. In Wisconsin, for example, couples could face a $10,000 fine or 9 months jail while in Delaware, it’s a $100 fine that if not paid could result in 30 days in jail.

Only two states – California and Massachusetts – allow same-sex marriage. California, unlike Massachusetts, does not have residency requirements.

Gay and lesbian advocates and defenders, however, worry the law could be applied to same-sex couples.

In June before same-sex couples said, “I do,” in California, Fair Wisconsin – a statewide organization that works for equality and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – sent out about 10,000 emails alerting supporters about the state law.

Glenn Carlson, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, said he learned of the antiquated law two years ago at a wedding reception for Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) and his partner, who tied the knot in Canada.

Pocan, Carlson said, joked that his same-sex marriage violated Wisconsin law.

“There are very conservative parts of the state,” Carlson said. “I think (prosecution) very definitely is in the realm of possibility.”

Same-sex couples have been able to marry in Canada since 2003.

Legal experts say no one has been prosecuted for Canadian marriages.

That doesn’t mean Bob Klebba and his partner of 10 years, David Waugh, aren’t mildly concerned about their San Diego wedding in August.

“I’d rather be prosecuted than persecuted,” the Madison, Wisconsin resident said.
“Part of the reason I’d like to see this issue come to a head is I’d like to see it establish jurisprudence.”