Courtney Beckwith (left) and Amber Beckwith (right) are married in the courtyard of the Waukesha County Courthouse by the Rev. Lori Hlaban of Unitarian Universalist Church West in Brookfield. Credit: Michael Sears

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More than half of Wisconsin's 72 counties are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Tuesday after a federal judge's decision late Friday to overturn the state's ban.

As of midday Tuesday, 48 counties were issuing marriage licenses, based on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's canvass of the counties and other media reports. The other 24 counties were not issuing, instead waiting word from the attorney general's office or their corporation counsel.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison announced Monday she would not stay Friday's decision. On Friday, she deemed the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, but she did not issue an order specifying how to proceed, leaving much of the decision to county clerks.

Crabb indicated Monday that she or the U.S. Court of Appeals is likely to grant a stay in the coming days. An official stay would block county officials around the state from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples while the decision is under appeal. Crabb said she wanted to hear from the two sides in the case and set her next hearing for later in June.

Also Monday, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago asked parties in the case to file papers by 5 p.m. Wednesday addressing whether the appellate court has jurisdiction in the federal lawsuit. Because of this, a federal appeals court won't decide until at least Wednesday evening whether to pause the gay marriages being approved throughout Wisconsin.

Some counties, such as Trempealeau, chose to wait until after Crabb's Monday conference to begin issuing, while clerks in Iron and Forest counties said they haven't had any requests but would grant applications if asked. Pierce County Clerk Jamie Feuerhelm said nine same-sex couples have applied for a license in his county.

Adams County Clerk Cindy Phillippi said she is granting applications following the recommendation of the corporation counsel, but cannot advise the couples that the license will be legal because of changing decisions regarding the law.

Lafayette County officials noted the shifting landscape, and said they are not issuing same-sex marriage licenses but the decision could change by later in the afternoon.