Gay rights advocates scored a major win Friday when an appeals court ruled Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry was constitutional, but the victory could be short-lived as conservatives pledged to take the case to the Republican-leaning state Supreme Court.
Conservatives had argued the registry bestows a status similar to marriage on same-sex couples and violates a 2006 state constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage or anything substantially similar to it.
The 4th District Court of Appeals disagreed. The court noted that legislators who supported the ban repeatedly said it wouldn't prevent same-sex couples from receiving some benefits and went on to list a range of rights married couples enjoy that same-sex couples still don't, including joint property ownership, joint adoption and the ability to share health benefits even after a divorce.
