State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen should defend the stateâ??s new domestic partner law. The law confers to gay couples who register some 40 of the more than 150 benefits available to married couples.
The attorney general argues that he is not bound to defend an unconstitutional law. He sees the law at odds with a Wisconsin constitutional amendment in 2006 that banned gay marriage or a “legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.” This is also the basis of a lawsuit against the domestic registry law, which was approved by the Legislature as part of the recent state budget. The state Supreme Court is deciding whether to hear the case.
In other words, Van Hollen is taking a side.