Article posted Thursday, July 8, 2010 5:13pm

• The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state June 30. The court was unanimous in rejecting a lawsuit that claimed the amendment violated a rule that limits referendum questions to a single subject. The lawsuit was brought by Dr. William McConkey, a Door County resident and University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh professor. McConkey argued that marriage and civil unions are two different subjects and should not have been included in the same question.

The amendment passed with 59 percent of the vote in 2006. To read more about McConkey’s challenge visit http://www.ppulse.com and type “Picking A Tough Fight” in the search bar.

• The results of the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are available now. The survey monitors health-risk behaviors of the nation’s high school students. These behaviors result in the most significant causes of both mortality and morbidity during youth and adulthood. The behaviors monitored by the Wisconsin YRBS include traffic safety; weapons and violence; suicide; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behavior; and diet, nutrition and exercise.

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has administered the YRBS to Wisconsin public high schools every two years since 1993. Survey results can be viewed at http://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/yrbsindx.html.