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. History: 1979 c. 32 s. 48; Stats. 1979 s. 765.01. 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 provi-
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
765.01
MARRIAGE
sions, 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). NOTE: See also article XIII, section 13, Marriage. 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).