Karina Willes and her spouse, Kami Young, are one of the eight plaintiff couples fighting for the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in Wisconsin. The plaintiffs have won the initial case and the in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The State has filed a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is being reviewed on September 29. Karina has featured in quite a few articles about the case, including:

• Johnson, S. (2014, August 27). Plaintiffs in gay marriage ban lawsuit see Tuesday’s hearing as ‘historic’: Same-sex couples travel by bus to Chicago to witness hearings. Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.wpr.org/plaintiffs-gay-marriage-ban-lawsuit-see-tuesdays-hearings-historic.
• Johnson, S., & Lorenzsonn, E. (2014, September 4). Milwaukee, WI. Federal appeals court upholds ruling striking down same-sex marriage ban. Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.wpr.org/federal-appeals-court-upholds-ruling-striking-down-same-sex-marriage-ban.
• Druke, G. (2014, June 13). Milwaukee, WI. In same-sex marriage case, two plaintiffs see progress, challenges ahead. Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.wpr.org/same-sex-marriage-case-two-plaintiffs-see-progress-challenges-ahead.
• Valliere, T. (2014, September 4). Milwaukee, WI. Appeals court rules Wisconsin same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional: AG J. B. Van Hollen says he will ask U.S. Supreme court to reverse decision. WISN Channel 12. http://www.wisn.com/politics/appeals-court-rules-samesex-marriage-ban-in-wisconsin-unconstitutional/27882336.
• Wainscott, K. (2014, August 26). Judge blast Indiana, Wisconsin gay marriage bans. WISN Channel 12. Retrieved from http://www.wisn.com/news/wisconsin-indiana-set-to-defend-gay-marriage-bans/27730480.
• Stein, J. & Marley, P. (2014, September 4). Court rules against Wisconsin’s, Indiana’s gay marriage bans. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/court-throws-out-wisconsins-and-indianas-gay-marriage-bans-b99344862z1-273993541.html?ipad=y.
• Gay couples line up to marry after ruling striking down ban.(2014, June 7). Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved from http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/gay-couples-line-up-to-marry-after-ruling-striking-down/article_d4b76da1-3fc7-5946-9cb2-dc7ea1d81f94.html.
• Garcia, M. (2014, June 6). Wisconsin: Judge strikes down 2006 marriage ban. The Advocate. Retrieved from http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/06/06/wisconsin-judge-strikes-down-2006-marriage-ban.
• The Associated Press. (2014, August 26). Judge takes tough tone at gay marriage hearing. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/us/judges-take-tough-tone-at-gay-marriage-hearing.html?_r=0.

Karina and Kami

Sandra Braman performed in “Lines of Thought” at the Media Ecology Association conference (Toronto, June). The performance was an improvisational exploration of ideas about the impact of information and communication technologies on society. “Lines of Thought” was directed by John Oswald (a well-known composer in experimental music circles) and included solos and duets by artists, academics, and entrepreneurs.

Louise Zamparutti’s work will be on stage when Windfall Theatre presents Identita’, a one-act comedy based on her research. Louise studied residents of the Italian-Slovenian border region. The play concerns ethnic and political division within a family and heterogeneous memories of World War II and was awarded two grants from the UWM Slovenian Arts Program.

• For tickets and showtimes, see: www.windfalltheatre.com
• For more information, see: http://expressmilwaukee.com/blog-10691-world-premiere-of-identita-with-windfall-theatre-company-this-month.html

Katherine Rafferty and her spouse, David Rafferty, announced that Sebastian David was born on 7:26am on September 19. He weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz and was 20.5 inches — Congratulations!