Wisconsin § 765.01 - A civil contract.

§ 765.01. A civil contract.

Marriage, so far as its validity at law is concerned, is a civil contract, to which the consent of the parties capable in law of contracting is essential, and which creates the legal status of husband and wife. 765.01 History History: 1979 c. 32 s. 48 ; Stats. 1979 s. 765.01. 765.01 Note NOTE: In Wolf v. Walker , 26 F. Supp. 3d 866 (2014), the U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin declared that “Any Wisconsin statutory provisions, including those in Wisconsin Statutes chapter 765, that limit marriages to a ‘husband’ and a ‘wife,’ are unconstitutional as applied to same-sex couples.” Affirmed. 766 F.3d 648 . U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Case No. 14-2526, issued September 4, 2014. See also Obergefell v. Hodges , 576 U.S. 644 , 135 S. Ct. 2584 , 192 L. Ed. 2d 609 (2015). 765.01 Note NOTE: See also article XIII, section 13, Marriage. 765.01 Annotation Same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all states. The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 , 135 S. Ct. 2584 , 192 L. Ed. 2d 609 (2015).