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| Lambda Legal attorney David Buckel had argued the Nebraska amendment was unusually harsh, preventing gay couples from arguing their case to the state legislature. | |
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By STEVE KOVAL
May 12 2005, 8:23 PM |
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A federal judge on Thursday struck down Nebraska's anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment, which also banned recognition of gay domestic partnerships and civil unions. "The court finds [the Nebraska constitutional amendment] is a denial of access to one of our most fundamental sources of protection, the government," Judge Joseph F. Bataillon wrote in his decision. "Such broad exclusion from an almost limitless number of transactions and endeavors that constitute ordinary civil life in a free society is itself a denial of equal protections in the literal sense."
David Buckel, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, had argued to the court that the effect of the measure passed in Nebraska had been particularly harsh. "This anti-gay-union law, in effect, hung a sign on the door of the [Nebraska Legislature] saying 'Same-Sex Couples Not Allowed.'" Buckel said in a statement issued after the ruling. -IMG-
"It makes no sense that Americans who believe in commitment and want to be more responsible to each other and their children have to fight so hard just for the right to try to persuade legislators that protections for family are important — successful or not, all citizens should have an equal shot in the democratic process," Buckel added.
The amendment, Section 29 of the Nebraska constitution, was passed in November 2000. The law went far beyond restricting the right to marry to heterosexual couples. The law explicitly barred any legal recognition of a same-sex couple in a "civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship."
"The judge was clear that states can't enact amendments that bar gay people from the democratic process," said Amy Miller of ACLU Nebraska, which also represented the plaintiffs.Anti-gay groups have found a silver lining in the Nebraska ruling. "This decision is the catalyst the United States Congress was looking
for as an example of why this country needs a federal marriage
amendment," said Mathew D. Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, Lambda's conservative counterpart in many marriage cases. "A single judge has overturned the vote of the people in Nebraska, essentially holding that any amendment that seeks to do anything more than define marriage as the union of a man and a woman is unconstitutional. Since some of our judges do not understand common sense, it's time for the people to spell it out in our United States Constitution: marriage is the union of only one man and one woman."
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