Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen never said county clerks should be charged for issuing same-sex marriage licenses, he told state district attorneys in an email Friday. He said they could be charged.
Van Hollen said he was responding to what he called “unfortunate and amplified media attention” related to his office’s defense of the same-sex marriage ban in the state constitution, which was stuck down by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb a week ago.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Thursday that Van Hollen said clerks could be charged, raising howls of protest from marriage equality supporters and making the national news.
Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell, who had his office gear up to issue licenses quickly in anticipation of Crabb’s ruling, called Van Hollen's claim of possible charges ridiculous.
"He needs to call off the dogs and turn off the fire hoses," McDonell told the Journal Sentinel, invoking extreme police responses to some civil rights protests of the 1960s.
Madison attorney Lester Pines wrote Van Hollen, telling him to stop threatening the clerks, because under Pines’ reading of the law, clerks cannot lawfully enforce state statutes limiting marriage to a “husband” and a “wife,” because Crabb’s ruling made those laws unconstitutional.
In an email to DAs provided to the Cap Times, Van Hollen said he did not suggest or recommend that county clerks by criminally charged.
“During a half-hour interview in which the Journal Sentinel asked if clerks could be charged I acknowledged they could, and further stated it would be very fact specific and up to individual District Attorneys. The opposite answer would have been untruthful.
"I would certainly not encourage any prosecutor to do so and even suggested at the conclusion of the interview that the reporter should not print on that subject as it would be fear mongering,” Van Hollen wrote.
Post a comment
Report
Watch this discussion.
(17) comments
These same sex couples most certainly should not engage in any kind of same sex relationship at all period. Homosexuality is not only contrary to Biblical teachings it is also in direct contradiction of Gods Laws as well. Homosexuality is considered sodomy.
Sodomy is also in direct contradiction of Gods Laws. A man shall not engage in sexual intercourse with a man. Nor shall a woman engage in sexual intercourse with a woman.
If you want my honest opinion I think that all same sex marriages should be abolished completely. Those are my sentiments exactly. God has instituted marriage between a man and a woman and the procreation of children.
And it shall not be violated in any way,shape or form. What these particular individuals are doing is totally defiling the marriage bed as a direct result of their most despicable acts. What these particular individuals are doing is not only in direct contradiction of Gods Laws it is also in direct violation of human nature as well.
If God would have intended for men to be totally engaged in a same sex marriage He would have created Adam and Steve and not Adam and Eve. In the Catholic Church they always emphasize that same sex couples deserve respect and concern. They further contend that you should hate the sin but love the sinner.
Sure,we should love and respect these particular individuals. But we must completely refrain from any further association with these particular individuals at all times. Yes,we should love and forgive these particular individuals.
But we must be completely leery of them each and every time. In the Catholic Church homosexuality is a mortal sin. And you most certainly should not receive The Sacraments if you are in the state of mortal sin.
If in the event that you do receive The Sacraments while in the state of mortal sin you are most certainly receiving them unworthily. And you are most certainly receiving them under very false pretenses. If you so desire to receive The Sacraments once again you must go to confession on Saturday Afternoon and confess your sins to God.
And you must make full amends for what you have done. After you have received full absolution for your sins and are truly repentant of them then you will be deemed worthy to receive The Sacraments and not before. You must fully resolve not to commit the same sins over and over again.
As the old saying goes: Actions do speak louder than words. Showing that you are truly sorry is much more important than the actual words used.
Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominate sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. It's psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture,which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,traditions has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
The number of men and women who have deep seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination,which is objectively disordered,constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect,compassion,and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and,if they are Christians,to unite the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self mastery that teach them inner freedom,at times by the support of disinterested friendship,by prayer and sacramental grace,they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
Leviticus 18:22: You will not have intercourse with a man as you would with a woman. This is a hateful thing.
Let us all pray that homosexuality comes to an abrupt end effective immediately.
Voisinet. Next time you talk with God, do us a favor and have him get rid of the mosquitos.
They are a much bigger problem than gay marriage. As for the Bible, don't believe everything you read.
If, during these little talks you have with God, you discover he/she hates all the same people you hate. That's probably not God you're talking to.
Once again I must translate Van Hollenspeak to cartoon language where it becomes more cogent: "hommina, hommina, hommina..."
If this law is so blatantly unconstitutional why did it take so long to be declared not? It was the will of the people for starters. The usual process is to stay with the staue quo, the law until a final decision has been made. There no doubt are better federal judges than Crabb when you look at her overall record.
Most Republican leaders are in the WRONG side of history, whether it is gay rights, climate change, gun control, immigration etc..
I do seriously wonder if they know how they will soon become extinct if they do not change their ways.
The implied threat to the clerks is exactly the same. "Should", "could" doesn't matter.
What Mr Van PhotoOp is saying is that it is up to the local DA do decide whether a County Clerk doing his or her job according to the law is a criminal.
That is clearly NOT what Judge Crabb said. She said that the ban agains gay marriage was unConstitutional.
I guess Mr Van PhotoOp forgot what side of his face he was lying out of.
If he makes good on his "promise", not even the "dark money overlords" will be able to stop the ensuing firestorm. Go ahead, JB, charge 'em and see what happens.
The absence of defense by the usual suspects is notable. Perhaps even they are fed up with the double-talk and dissimulation.
No, they're not fed up. They're just not being paid to comment on this topic.
JB isn't running again, so there is no campaign paying them to defend him. And the GOP knows that defending gay marriage is a losing and unpopular endeavor, so they aren't paying online commenters to defend it.
That's why the usual suspects aren't here. If it wasn't already obvious that they are paid shills, then these articles certainly do so.
By your own words, you most certainly did suggest that county clerks be charged for issuing same-sex marriage licenses. What kind of fools do you believe the voters of Wisconsin are? Not nearly half the fool ... or one-tenth the charlatan ... that you are.
Wow... talk about damage control.
Hey JB... if you don't want to be quoted as making idiotic statements, try not making idiotic statements.
JB, you're an embarrassment on this state's political history pages. Fortunately for WI, you will be quickly forgotten once you leave office.
Unfortunately for you, the embarrassment of your bigotry will follow your family for generations.
Do people see how Conservatives/Republicans play with semantics? They want to have it both ways. Do they think the people of WI are dumb?
Whatever, JB, 'king of the backtrackers and double-speakers', whatever.
J.B. should join Scott McCallum for induction into Wisconsin's political hall of shame. Would someone please start one? Scooter is waiting in line.
Scooter's FIRST in line!
If not you, then who J.B? Could you please vacate your office a few months early? You won't be missed.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it clean. Exchange ideas and opinions on posted articles. Don't promote products or services, impersonate other site users, register multiple accounts, threaten or harass others, post vulgar, abusive, obscene or sexually oriented language. Don't post content that defames or degrades anyone. Don't repost copyrighted material; link to it. In other words, stick to the topic and play nice. Report abuses by clicking the button. Users who break the rules will be banned from commenting. We no longer issue warnings. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.