Wisconsin Taxpayers to pay $1.1 million to ACLU for gay marriage Scott Walker battle
Oh, how i wish it would come out of Walker's wallet.
Wisconsin Taxpayers to pay $1.1 million to ACLU for gay marriage Scott Walker battle http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-to-pay-1-million-to-aclu-for-gay-marriage-battle-b99470453z1-297841361.html … #wipolitics #uniteblue
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-to-pay-1-million-to-aclu-for-gay-marriage-battle-b99470453z1-297841361.html
State to pay $1.1 million to ACLU for gay marriage battle
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By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: 6:33 p.m.
(40) Comments
Madison — The state of Wisconsin's unsuccessful court battle to prevent gay marriage will cost taxpayers more than $1 million, under an agreement released Friday.
State Attorney General Brad Schimel, a Republican, and attorneys for eight gay and lesbian couples reached the agreement after the couples successfully sued to overturn the state's 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The couples were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which sought $1.25 million to cover its costs because the couples prevailed in their lawsuit. Ultimately, the ACLU will receive nearly $1.1 million, under the stipulation released Friday.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia who believes bans like Wisconsin's are unconstitutional, said that he wasn't surprised at the cost to state taxpayers and that it could have been worse. Gov. Scott Walker, one of the defendants, and then Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, both Republicans, opposed the same-sex plaintiffs at every level of the federal court system, he said.
"The state never seemed to appreciate how much taxpayer money is expended on this type of litigation in which it was pretty clear from the outset that Wisconsin was going to lose," Tobias said.
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