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Walker Directs Officials To Recognize Same-Sex Marriages From This Summer

More Than 500 Couples Married After Ban Was Struck Down, But Before Judge Issued Stay

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A couple leaving the Milwaukee County Courthouse after getting married this June. Photo: Light Brigading (CC-BY-NC).

Gov. Scott Walker directed state officials on Monday to recognize the partnerships of roughly 500 same-sex couples who were married after a federal district judge struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, but before a stay was put on that ruling.

The ruling that overturned the ban was upheld in federal appeals court. That ruling was appealed by the state Department of Justice, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the case last week, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

Until Walker made his directive on Monday, however, the fate of the couples married in the period prior to the stay was unclear. Some officials had speculated that the state would possibly make those couples re-marry before recognizing their partnerships.

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Editor’s Note: This story will be updated as Wisconsin Public Radio learns more information.