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Yes.

In 2016, Daniel Kelly applied for a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In his application, he criticized same-sex marriage and mentioned the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States vs. Windsor. In that case, the court struck down part of a federal law that defined marriage for federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman.

Kelly wrote:

“The sentiments expressed in United States vs. Windsor will eventually rob the institution of marriage of any discernible meaning. Fairness, as a substitute for justice, must always reduce to the least common denominator. By little and little, it will wear away marriage’s distinctives.”

Kelly is one of four candidates in the 2023 state Supreme Court race. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the Feb. 21 primary will compete in the spring election on April 4.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

DocumentCloud: Daniel Kelly application for Wisconsin Supreme Court

Encyclopædia Britannica: United States v. Windsor | law case

Ballotpedia: Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2023

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Carroll students oppose Justice Kelly appearance

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Scott Walker names Daniel Kelly to high court

Wisconsin Examiner: Wisconsin Examiner

Do over half of calories consumed by Americans come from ultraprocessed foods?

Did Wisconsin have more than 40,000 KKK members in the 1920s?

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Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly say that supporting same-sex marriage ‘robs marriage of any meaning?’

by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch
February 2, 2023

<h1>Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly say that supporting same-sex marriage ‘robs marriage of any meaning?’</h1>
<p class="byline">by Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch <br />February 2, 2023</p>
<br />
<h2>Yes. </h2>
<p>In 2016, Daniel Kelly applied for a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In his application, he criticized same-sex marriage and mentioned the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States vs. Windsor. In that case, the court struck down part of a federal law that defined marriage for federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman.</p>
<p>Kelly wrote:</p>
<p>“The sentiments expressed in United States vs. Windsor will eventually rob the institution of marriage of any discernible meaning. Fairness, as a substitute for justice, must always reduce to the least common denominator. By little and little, it will wear away marriage’s distinctives.”</p>
<p>Kelly is one of four candidates in the 2023 state Supreme Court race. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the Feb. 21 primary will compete in the spring election on April 4.</p>
<p>This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as <a href="https://twitter.com/ForOurFutureWI/status/1616843069663346690" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this one.</a></p>
<p><strong>Sources</strong></p>
<p>DocumentCloud: <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2901128/Daniel-Kelly-Full-Application.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daniel Kelly application for Wisconsin Supreme Court</a></p>
<p>Encyclopædia Britannica: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-v-Windsor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">United States v. Windsor | law case</a></p>
<p>Ballotpedia: <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_Supreme_Court_elections,_2023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2023</a></p>
<p>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/blogs/proof-and-hearsay/2017/02/01/carroll-students-oppose-justice-kelly-appearance/97338082/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carroll students oppose Justice Kelly appearance</a></p>
<p>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: <a href="https://archive.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/scott-walker-to-name-high-court-pick-friday-b99766044z1-387934322.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scott Walker names Daniel Kelly to high court</a></p>
<p>Wisconsin Examiner: <a href="https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/03/27/supreme-decision/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wisconsin Examiner</a></p>
<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org/2023/02/did-wisconsin-supreme-court-candidate-daniel-kelly-say-that-supporting-same-sex-marriage-robs-marriage-of-any-meaning/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://wisconsinwatch.org&quot;&gt;Wisconsin Watch&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;amp;quality=100&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p>
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Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly say that supporting same-sex marriage ‘robs marriage of any meaning?’

Yes.

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Did Wisconsin have more than 40,000 KKK members in the 1920s?

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