Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) frequently discusses his desire to get rid of “excessive government regulation,” but as a state legislator in the mid-1990s, he once proposed a law that would require engaged couples to get tested for HIV and submit proof to a county clerk at least 30 days before their wedding.
In June 1997, Rep. Walker was one of 22 lawmakers to introduce AB 428. The proposed legislation would have:
require[d] that each party applying for a marriage license in this state present to the county clerk a physician’s statement that, no longer than 30 days before applying, the party has been tested for the presence of HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and that each party intending to marry has provided the other party with the test results.
At the time, the only other items necessary to receive a marriage certificate in Wisconsin were proper age (or to have parental consent), residency in the state, proper identification and timeliness of the nuptials. AB 428 would have added submission of an HIV test as a fifth item necessary to be legally wed.
The bill noted that county clerks may not refuse to grant a marriage license just because one or both parties may be HIV-positive. It also stipulated that an engaged couple did not have to actually submit the results of the HIV test to the county clerk, just proof from a physician that they had taken one.
AB 428 ultimately died in 1998 without receiving a floor vote.