Pamela Norby and Crystal Norby kiss after being married at the Milwaukee County Clerk's office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin June 6, 2014,.
A federal judge has
declined to immediately stay Friday's decision overturning Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage. That means the weddings can continue, at least for now.
Three days after her historic ruling striking down the state's same-sex marriage ban, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb indicated that in the coming days she is likely to grant a stay of her Friday ruling, which would block county officials around the state from issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples while her decision from Friday is appealed. But before deciding on a stay, Crabb said she wanted to hear more from the two sides in the case on its implications and set her next hearing for June 19.
Crabb's initial decision Monday afternoon came as state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen sought an emergency halt to gay weddings in two different federal courts. In the rapidly unfolding case, the Republican attorney general asked Crabb for a stay on Friday evening and then filed a petition Monday morning for a stay with the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
Meantime, some county clerks around the state have been issuing certificates for couples to marry, while some counties are holding off on a final decision on a stay from Crabb. As it stands, the state isn't now compelled by Crabb's initial ruling to actually accept the certificates the counties are filing because "she did not issue an order instructing county and state officials on what to do about it." That's leaving confusion and controversy with many newly married couples in a strange limbo. It's a limbo many are willing to accept, having that certificate in hand and with the belief that some day soon it will be valid anywhere in the U.S.