Wisconsin's gay marriage ban denies same-sex couples legal protections and serves no legitimate government purpose, the American Civil Liberties Union argued Monday in a brief asking a federal appeals court to preserve a ruling that struck down the prohibition.

Wisconsin's domestic partner registry does not violate the state's ban on gay marriage, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in a unanimous decision that gay rights activists hailed as an important but intermediate step in legalizing same-sex marriage.

Lawyers will argue the constitutionality of gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin in about a month.

Opponents of same-sex marriage cited political theory, social stability and even biblical text in legal briefs filed this week in federal court, where Indiana and Wisconsin are appealing rulings that overthrew their bans on gay weddings.

Wisconsin's attorney general compared gay marriage to abortion on Wednesday in arguing that there was no fundamental right to it and state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman were reasonable.

Attorneys on either side of a lawsuit over Indiana's overthrown gay marriage ban are wrangling over how many federal judges should hear the state's appeal, a technical issue that could make a big difference.

Gay couples challenging Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriages are objecting to the state's request that the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals hear arguments in the case.

Democrats in the Wisconsin state Senate are asking Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to drop defense of the state's gay marriage ban, arguing it's a waste of money.

Wisconsin attorneys have asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear their arguments on upholding the state's gay marriage ban.

A federal appeals court in Chicago will hear arguments in challenges of gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana's on Aug. 13.

A federal appeals court has combined Indiana and Wisconsin's gay marriage cases and put them on the fast track.

A federal judge says civil rights advocates' request to lift a stay on gay marriages in Wisconsin is moot.

Wisconsin's attorney general on Thursday appealed a federal judge's ruling from last month striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriages as unconstitutional.

Utah's decision to ask the nation's highest court to review a federal appeals court ruling in favor of gay marriage nudges the issue closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A federal judge will not speed up the briefing schedule in the American Civil Liberties Union request that she lift a stay on gay marriages in Wisconsin.

When the U.S Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act exactly one year ago, it stopped short of saying states cannot ban gay marriage.

A federal judge on Friday put same-sex marriages in Wisconsin on hold, a week after she struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional, a move that allowed more than 500 couples to wed over the last eight days.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen warned county clerks Thursday that prosecutors could charge them for issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying the state's gay marriage ban remains in effect despite a federal judge's ruling that it's unconstitutional.

Civil rights advocates are trying to persuade a federal appeals court it has no jurisdiction to end gay marriages in Wisconsin yet.

Gay marriages were still being allowed in a majority of Wisconsin counties on Wednesday, even as those defending the state's ban were proceeding with legal action that could result in courts ordering the marriages to stop.

Everyone appreciates a well-written decision, so there is general agreement that federal District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote a bravura opinion in declaring Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages unconstitutional.

A county clerk and an attorney say gay marriage licenses issued by county clerks are legal even if the state Vital Records Office is not processing them.

Two hundred eighty-three same sex couples obtained marriage licenses between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin — 146 of them in Milwaukee, 137 in Madison, none in Green Bay, or any other county seat.

It looks like a federal appeals court won't rule on whether to halt gay marriages in Wisconsin until at least Wednesday.

Gay couples are continuing to marry in Wisconsin after a federal judge delayed acting on the state attorney general's request for her to halt the ceremonies.

Gay couples in Wisconsin convinced some county clerks to give them licenses Monday so they could wed before an expected hold on a judge's decision declaring the state's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

Wisconsin becomes 27th state to allow same-sex marriage

A federal judge has ruled that Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union is urging a federal judge to reject Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's request to stay any future ruling striking down Wisconsin's gay marriage ban.

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.