State Attorney General Refuses to Defend 'Domestic Partnerships'

The law violates the Constitution and the voters' intent to preserve the natural institution of marriage.

MADISON, WI (LifeSiteNews.com) - Armed with sound legal principles and plenty of chutzpah, the Wisconsin Attorney General has told state lawmakers that he will not defend the state's domestic partnership law for homosexual couples against a legal challenge, because the law violates the Constitution and the voters' intent to preserve the natural institution of marriage.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen issued a statement last week saying he would not represent the government over the Domestic Partnership Registry, because the people amended the Wisconsin Constitution in 2006 to prohibit lawmakers from creating institutions for unmarried couples that are "identical or substantially similar to that of marriage."

"My duty to is to the people of the state of Wisconsin and the highest expression of their will - the constitution of the state of Wisconsin," said Van Hollen. "When the people have spoken by amending our constitution, I will abide by their command. When policy-makers have ignored their words, I will not."

In July, Wisconsin Family Action challenged the law before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, arguing that the domestic partnership scheme was drawn from the state's existing marriage statutes, and therefore violated the 2006 referendum. The domestic partnership law simply replaced terms such as "marriage" with "domestic partnership," and provided same-sex couples with "declarations" instead of "marriage licenses."

Van Hollen reviewed the case and agreed with Wisconsin Family Action that the law was "unconstitutional." The move has flustered Wisconsin lawmakers and the Governor, who will have to hire a special counsel to defend the law. The Governor has accused Van Hollen of basing his decision on his personal opinion - a charge which Van Hollen expressly rejected.

State officials have argued that the Domestic Partnership registry does not violate the Constitution, but gives homosexual partners marriage-like rights to hospital visitation, inheritance, and the ability to take advantage of the Wisconsin Family Medical Leave Act to order to take up to two weeks of job-protected leave and care for a sick partner.

However the law itself goes well beyond functioning as a mere legal economic arrangement. Instead the eligibility requirements make the law specifically designed for couples in a homosexual relationship: both applicants must be members of the same sex, at least 18 years old, share a common residence, no closer in kinship than second cousins, and cannot be married or in another domestic partnership.

LSN also found a sample "Affidavit for Domestic Partnership" - already available to Wisconsin state employees seeking dental insurance - that defines domestic partnership as the "functional equivalent of a marriage." The Wisconsin Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) has the document listed on its website.

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The Wisconsin law was passed in a budget bill back in June by the Democratic-controlled legislature and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. The legislation took effect August 3 and over 400 same-sex couples have registered since then.

"Our system of government serves no purpose if our elected officials can completely and capriciously ignore the will of the people with impunity," said WFA President Julaine Appling in a statement when the case was filed. Appling is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Appling v. Doyle, and her pro-family organization is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund.

"We're very hopeful and optimistic that the Wisconsin Supreme Court will take note of what the Attorney General said in his statement and they will use that as a favorable factor in determining whether to take this case," ADF Litigation Counsel Jim Campbell told LifeSiteNews.com.

Campbell told LSN that the government response to their petition is due a week from Monday. ADF anticipates the state Supreme Court to schedule a court date within a few weeks once the state makes its case.

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