Same-sex marriage in Nebraska has been legally recognized since June 26, 2015, when the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruled in the case of ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'' that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Following the court ruling, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Doug Peterson, announced that the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

would comply and recognize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

Legal history

In November 2000, Nebraska voters adopted Initiative Measure 416, a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

defining

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

as the union of a man and a woman and prohibiting the recognition of same-sex relationships under any other name. The measure passed with 70.10% in favour and 29.90% opposed. The state has only restricted marriage rights for same-sex couples in its state constitution; it has never passed a measure to that effect in the form of a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

passed in the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the small ...

. Nebraska extended hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples through a designated visitor statute.

Repeal of the same-sex marriage ban

In January 2016, decision began on whether the defunct same-sex marriage ban should be removed from the State Constitution. Senator

Burke Harr Burke Harr (born October 13, 1971) is a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. Harr was a member of the Nebraska Legislature, in which he represented the 8th legislative district in Omaha, consisting of the midtown neighborhoods of Dundee a ...

argued that the Constitution should be consistent with the law of the land regarding same-sex marriage. Such a change would require approval by voters. Two religious organizations opposed the measure, claiming it was "too costly" and that it would "only create more divisiveness". Senator

Patty Pansing Brooks Patty Pansing Brooks (born September 30, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 28th district. Elected in November 2014, she assumed office on January 7, 2015. Early life and edu ...

later said, "Enough hurt. Enough harm. Enough damage has been done by the religious institutions." Senator Matt Hansen also introduced bills to make all references to marriage

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

in state statutes, though the bills failed to pass. In January 2021, Senator Pansing Brooks presented a ballot measure to repeal the state's defunct same-sex marriage ban. She argued that "putting the issue on the ballot would allow voters to show that public attitudes toward same-sex marriage have changed in Nebraska". The proposal was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which approved the measure on February 11 by a 5–2 vote, but it was not voted on before the State Legislature adjourned ''sine die'' on May 27, 2021. A similar measure was proposed in 2023 by Senator Jen Day.

Lawsuits

''Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning''

In 2003, two

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

advocacy organizations, Citizens for Equal Protection and the Nebraska Advocates for Justice and Equality, joined by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) and also represented by

Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/ AIDS ( PWAs) through i ...

, filed suit in the

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (in case citations, D. Neb.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nebraska. Court offices are in Omaha and Lincoln. Appeals from the District of Nebraska ...

challenging the constitutionality of Initiative Measure 416. District Court Judge

Joseph Bataillon Joseph Francis Bataillon (born October 3, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Education and career Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Bataillon received a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

ruled in favour of the plaintiffs on May 12, 2005, overturning Initiative Measure 416 based on the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...

, the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, and the prohibition on

bills of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

contained in the

Contract Clause Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, known as the Contract Clause, imposes certain prohibitions on the states. These prohibitions are meant to protect individuals from intrusion by state governments and to keep ...

.''Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning'', 368 F. Supp. 2d 980 (D.Neb. 2005)
The state appealed the decision to the

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Distr ...

and on July 14, 2006, in a unanimous opinion written by Chief Judge

James B. Loken James Burton Loken (born May 21, 1940) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit since 1990. Education Loken earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in ...

, the Eighth Court reversed the district court's decision on all three of its conclusions. The plaintiffs' subsequent request for an Eighth Circuit rehearing ''

en banc In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...

'' was denied and they elected to not file a petition for ''

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

'' in the

''Waters v. Ricketts''

On November 17, 2014, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, originally ''Waters v. Heineman'', in federal court on behalf of seven same-sex couples. The plaintiffs sought to overturn Nebraska's same-sex marriage ban and to have their out-of-state marriages recognized. The case became ''Waters v. Ricketts'' when

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American politician serving as the 40th governor of Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ricketts is the son of Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade. He is also, with oth ...

succeeded

Dave Heineman David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th lieu ...

as governor in January 2015. On January 21, 2015, the state asked for proceedings to be stayed pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court in related same-sex marriage cases, and on January 23 Senior Judge

cancelled a hearing he had scheduled for January 29. On January 27, he denied the state's request to suspend proceedings. He held

oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also ad ...

s on February 19. On March 2, he ruled for the plaintiffs, setting March 9 as the effective date of his order.''Waters v. Ricketts'' (D. Neb. 2015)
/ref> Attorney General Doug Peterson immediately announced the state would appeal the ruling and asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

Judge Bataillon's order prohibiting enforcement of the state's same-sex marriage ban. He requested a stay pending appeal the next day, which the Eighth Circuit granted on March 6, while also scheduling oral argument for May 12 alongside three other same-sex marriage cases.

''Obergefell v. Hodges''

Following the decision of the

in ''

'' on June 26, 2015, Attorney General Peterson notified the Eighth Circuit that the state would no longer enforce its ban on marriage of same-sex couples. Same-sex couples began immediately marrying in Nebraska following the Supreme Court's ruling, with Kathy Pettersen and Beverly Reicks being the first same-sex couple to file marriage paperwork at the Douglas County Clerk's Office on June 26. Barbara DiBernard and Judith Gibson were the first to wed in Lancaster County, which contains the capital city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. Susan and Sally Waters, plaintiffs in ''Waters'', were issued a license on Friday, June 26 by the Douglas County Clerk, Tom Cavanaugh. Governor Ricketts issued a statement critical of the ruling but said the state would comply, saying "We will follow the law and respect the ruling outlined by the court." Attorney General Peterson said the court had "overstepped its proper role in our system of government". State tax officials quickly issued guidance for married same-sex couples, and the Department of Motor Vehicles started processing

name change Name change is the legal act by a person of adopting a new name different from their current name. The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions. In general, common law jurisdictions have loose procedures for a name chang ...

s for

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

s based on marriage certificates for same-sex couples. Most

Nebraska counties The following is a list of the 93 County (United States), counties in the U.S. state of Nebraska, listed by name, Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code and Vehicle registration plates of Nebraska, license plate prefix. Nebraska's Uni ...

began immediately issuing

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

s to same-sex couples, or announced their willingness to do so. Officials in Buffalo,

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

and

Phelps Phelps may refer to: Places in the United States * Phelps, Kentucky * Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Phelps, New York ** Phelps (village), New York * Phelps, Wisconsin, a town ** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...

counties initially reported they would not be issuing such licenses until they received further guidance from the state. However, both Governor Ricketts and Attorney General Peterson had announced by June 29, 2015 that the state would comply with the court's ruling and those counties promptly followed that guidance. The Sioux County Clerk, Michelle Zimmerman, was the only county clerk in Nebraska to expressly state she would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, though the county's deputy clerk confirmed on July 11, 2015 that the office would process the marriage licenses of any same-sex couple who wishes to marry in the county. On July 1, 2015, the Eighth Circuit lifted the stay it had imposed on Judge Bataillon's order, allowing his prohibition on the enforcement of Nebraska's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples to take effect. On February 6, 2016, Judge Bataillon issued a permanent injunction striking down the state's defunct same-sex marriage ban. Though a formality, the

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

ordered state officials to treat same-sex couples the same as opposite-sex couples in everything from processing marriage certificates to issuing

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...

s, the latter something the state had previously attempted to ban same-sex couples from amending.

Native American nations

The Law and Order Code of the

Ponca Tribe of Nebraska The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ponca people. The other is the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. They hold an annual powwow every August. Reservation From the original Ponca Reservation, the tribe ha ...

states that the code must "ensure that couples of the same sex and couples of opposite sex have equal access to marriage". The change was decided by the Tribal Council on a meeting on August 26, 2018. As of 2021, this wording has changed to "ensure that couples of the same sex and couples of opposite sex have equal access to marriage and to the protections, responsibilities, and benefits that result from marriage." The

Ponca The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...

people refer to

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

people as (). They were believed to have been "instructed by the Moon", and would sometimes take men as partners. During its monthly meeting in March 2022, two members of Tribal Council of the

Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska ( win, Nįįšoc Hoocąk) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk Native Americans. The other is the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Tribe members often refer to themselves as ''Hochungra'' – "People ...

proposed a motion to recognize same-sex marriages on the reservation. The motion was opposed by other council members who allegedly used

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

language and called for LGBT people to be banned from the tribe. The motion to recognize same-sex marriages was voted down, with 4 of the 7 council members voting against. The Winnebago people have traditionally recognized two-spirit people who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere. They are known in the

Winnebago language The Ho-Chunk language (''Hoocąk, Hocąk''), also known as Winnebago, is the traditional language of the Ho-Chunk (or Winnebago) nation of Native Americans in the United States. The language is part of the Siouan language family, and is closely ...

as (). They were believed to have been blessed by the spirit of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and were "holy and highly respected for special gifts such as prophesy, healing, artistry, and excelling at women's tasks". Many ''teją́čowįga'' married

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of ''transgender''. The prefix ''wiktionary:cis ...

men, without indication of

polygyny Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

. Following the vote, Tyler LaMere, a 17-year-old two-spirit tribal member, released a video on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, which was viewed more than a million times, calling on tribal leaders to reconsider their decision. The social media campaign led to the Tribal Council reconsidering the decision during its April 11 meeting. Council member Isaac Smith, who had voted to ban same-sex marriage back in March, introduced a motion to reconsider that vote. It passed 5–0 with two abstentions. The council then voted to add same-sex marriage to the tribal court code. "There was a real humbleness of the leadership to apologize to the relatives that they had offended.", said council member Victoria Kitcheyan.

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Nebraska , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 58% , align=center, 40% , align=center, 2% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 348 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 69% , align=center, 31% , align=center, <0.5% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 519 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 54% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 13% , -
American Values Atlas/Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 747 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 61% , align=center, 27% , align=center, 12% , -
American Values Atlas/Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 587 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, ''49%'' , align=center, 43% , align=center, 8% , -
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 721 likely voters , align=center, ± 3.9% , align=center, 40% , align=center, ''46%'' , align=center, 14% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, September 30–October 2, 2011 , align=center, 739 voters , align=center, ± 3.6% , align=center, 36% , align=center, 54% , align=center, 10% , -
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
, align=center, August 2–4, 2011 , align=center, 305 adults , align=center, ± 4% , align=center, 42% , align=center, 51% , align=center, 12% , -

References

External links

''Waters v. Ricketts'' (Judgement of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, March 2, 2015)
{{Same-sex unions in the United States Nebraska law LGBT in Nebraska

2015 in LGBT history 2015 in Nebraska