In 2000, Nebraska added the Defense of Marriage Amendment to its state constitution, after 70 percent of voters were in favor for it. The amendment banned same-sex marriage in the state by defining a valid marriage only between a man and a woman.
This ban affected a large portion of Nebraskans. As of a census in 2013, there were 3,331 same-sex relationship households in Nebraska with studies suggesting over 54,000 Nebraskans are LGBT.
One of the couples affected was Susan and Sally Waters. The Omaha couple had been together for 17 years when Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2013. With Sally’s uncertain future, the couple wanted to be able to get married in the state they call home.
In November 2014, the ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit with Susan and Sally along with six other same-sex Nebraska couples seeking the right to have their out-of-state marriages recognized in our state.
In March of 2015, US district judge Joseph Bataillon determined the Defense of Marriage amendment to be unconstitutional and ordered all state officials to treat same-sex couples the same as other couples in regards to processing marriage licenses or determining the rights, protections, or benefits of marriage.
However, only a mere fifty-five minutes had passed before Nebraska Attorney Doug Armstrong filed an appeal and requested a stay on Bataillon’s judgment. The appeal was accepted and an oral argument regarding the issue was set.
Before Bataillon’s ruling could be looked at again, the United States Supreme Court made a sweeping decision that changed the landscape of our nation.
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the opportunity to marry is unconstitutional, thus allowing the freedom to marry across all 50 states!
Check out photos from our celebration with the Nebraska Freedom to Marry plaintiffs!
This was a remarkable victory for our state and our nation. The ACLU of Nebraska will continue fighting for equal opportunities and rights for all LGBT Nebraskans until Nebraska’s motto, ‘equality before the law,’ is truly the lay of the land.
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2016 is the 50th anniversary of the ACLU of Nebraska. We will feature several memories from our five decades of defending freedom in the Cornhusker state here. Do you have a favorite memory? Share it with us!
