The state’s refusal to grant domestic partner benefits to its employees does not violate the Wisconsin Constitution, the attorney general argued in urging a Dane County judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging the decision.Six state employees filed suit in April claiming a state law excluding gay partners of state employees from health benefits violates the constitution’s equal rights protection clause, which guarantees equal treatment for people in similar situations.
In a brief filed late Friday, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager denied the plaintiffs’ claim and pointed out a state appeals court rejected similar arguments in a 1992 decision.