Wisconsin Won't Hear Gay Marriage Lawsuit

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition brought by a same-sex couple from Milwaukee seeking to strike down the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The court last week without comment declined to take the case. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissented, also without comment.

Katherine Halopka-Ivery and Linda Halopka-Ivery filed the lawsuit directly with the high court in April, bypassing the trial and appellate courts.

They married in California, where it is legal, and allege Wisconsin's gay marriage ban denies them federal rights afforded to opposite-sex married couples, violating their rights to equal protection and due process.

A separate federal lawsuit filed by eight same-sex couples is pending in federal court in Madison.