Wis. court upholds same-sex marriage ban

MADISON, Wis., June 30 (UPI) -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court refused Wednesday to overturn a referendum that banned both same-sex marriage and civil unions.

The justices unanimously rejected an argument that the referendum violated a state rule by including two issues, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The 2006 referendum, approved by 59 percent of the voters, asked them to reject both gay marriage and "identical or substantially similar arrangements," including civil unions.

"Both sentences of the marriage amendment relate to marriage and tend to effect or carry out the same general purpose of preserving the legal status of marriage in Wisconsin as between only one man and one woman," Justice Michael Gableman wrote in the court's opinion.

Bill McConkey, who teaches political science at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, argued in his lawsuit seeking to overturn the referendum -- which amended the state constitution -- that voters should have been able to vote separately on gay marriage and civil unions.