[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) [advocacy website] filed a complaint [ACLU report] on Wednesday on behalf of four same-sex couples who were legally married in Wisconsin last June, but whose marriages are not currently recognized due to a stay on the district court ruling striking down the same-sex marriage ban. The complaint argues the legal marriages of the four couples [ACLU backgrounder] named in the suit and hundreds of same-sex couples in Wisconsin that were married during the week between the ruling was issued and the stay was placed on the ruling are not given proper legal consideration. In early June a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin struck down [JURIST report] Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban. Within eight days, approximately 600 marriage licenses were issued before US District Judge Barbara Crabb placed a hold on same-sex marriages at the request of Wisconsin Attorney JB Van Hollen, who is leading an effort to appeal her previous decision. Two weeks ago the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld [JURIST report] the lower courts’ decisions striking down the same-sex marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana. Additionally, same-sex rights in Wisconsin continue to expand, as last week a state judge approved same-sex adoption [JURIST report].

The legal debate over same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] is one of the most active legal issues in the US. In recent months a number of states have faced challenges regarding the constitutionality of denying same-sex partners equal spousal rights. Last week, Indiana and Wisconsin each petitioned the US Supreme Court to determine if same-sex marriage should be legal in all 50 states, which joined a movement of thirty-four states [JURIST reports] who filed briefs or petitions with the Supreme Court in early September.