Gay marriage in nebraska
State senator proposes resolutions to protect marriage regardless of race and gender
Ten years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to marriage in all 50 states.
But Nebraska’s constitution does not recognize same-sex relationships.
State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh proposed LR5CA and LR6CA to enable voters to repeal and revise I-29, the article in the constitution that validates marriage if it's between a “man and a woman."
“The people of Nebraska deserve to choose for themselves without relying on the shifting decisions of the Supreme Court whether every individual has the right to wed whomever they love,” she said at a universal hearing last week on her resolutions.
Cavanaugh claimed that brain drain, a designation used to describe the loss of educated people to other states, is hurting Nebraska because its values aren’t in line with most young, educated people.
“Let’s demonstrate that Nebraska truly is for everyone by taking this step to ensure that civil liberties are preserved for all Nebraskans now and into the future,” she said.
Testifying in favor of the proposals, Paige Goertzen-Whitaker of Lincoln said the future of Nebraska depends on it
OMAHA, Neb. - A federal judge blocked Nebraska's same-sex attracted marriage ban on Monday, but the decision will not take effect for a week and the attorney general's office immediately appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska sued the state in November on behalf of seven same-sex couples challenging the ban, which passed with the approval of 70 percent of voters in 2000. In addition to prohibiting gay marriage, the ban also forbids civil unions and legalized home partnerships.
The ban means that same-sex couples miss out on medical and financial benefits available to heterosexual married couples, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon said as he issued the injunction.
"All of the plaintiffs have further demonstrated psychological harm and stigma, on themselves and on their children, as a finding of the non-recognition of their marriages," he said in the 34-page decision. "The plaintiffs have been denied the dignity and respect that comes with the rights and responsibilities of marriage.
Bataillon rejected the state's argument that the ban reflects the will of a majority of voters and promotes family stability. He said he believes
Same-sex Marriage: Where Nebraska Stands
In Waters, etal. V. Ricketts, etal seven couples in same sex relationships challenged the constitutionality of Nebraska’s fifteen year old exclude on gay marriage. Each couple argued they had been harmed by the state’s definition of marriage because it denied them of rights and services made available to men and women married in the state.
The State of Nebraska argued it was not appropriate for a federal judge to cast out a part of Nebraska’s constitution legally implemented by a majority of its citizens in a referendum vote. At a news conference the night the case was presented in Federal Court Attorney General Doug Peterson said “citizens have the right to determine these matters, and the referendum should be upheld and not addressed by the courts.”
The Attorney General also maintains the historic purpose of marriage is pro-creation to sustain civilization; something one-of-a-kind to traditional marriages between one man and one woman. Peterson said “the purpose of government is not to define an emotional relationship, but what is of benefit to society” which in the case of marriage is pro-creation for sustaining human civilization.
What did t LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker known as a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community has presented a ballot measure to a legislative committee that would abolish the state’s unenforceable ban on gay marriages. Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, of Lincoln, argues that voters should possess the chance to strip the ban out of the Nebraska Constitution, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that such restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution and can’t be enforced. Pansing Brooks says putting the issue on the ballot would allow voters to show that public attitudes have changed since the one-man, one-woman marriage amendment was enshrined in Nebraska’s constitution in 2000. Socially conservative groups oppose the measure, arguing that marriage can only be between one man and one woman Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage. Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
Proposal would end Nebraska's unenforceable gay marriage ban
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