Nevermind the People

Today, in a first-of-its-kind ruling, federal district court Judge Joseph Bataillon declared Nebraska's marriage amendment, which was passed by the citizens in 2000, unconstitutional. That amendment, which defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman, also prohibited state recognition or creation of civil unions, domestic partnerships or other similar same-sex relationships. The court ruled that the amendment violated First Amendment associational rights because it allegedly impaired the formation of groups or associations to lobby for changes in legislation that would benefit same-sex couples.

The court swept quite broadly in its conclusion, stating that "Any blanket prohibition on any type of legal recognition of a same-sex relationship not only denies the benefits of favorable legislation to these groups, it prohibits them from even asking for such benefits." The court also ruled that the amendment violates Federal Guarantees of Equal Protection. Significantly, the court held that the only reason behind the amendment could have been animus toward same-sex couples.

Finally, the court held that Nebraska voters, in seeking to define and protect marriage, inflicted unconstitutional "punishment" on same-sex couples. Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, commented, "This decision is the catalyst the United States Congress was looking for as an example of why this country needs a federal marriage amendment. 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.

Read the Opinion http://www.lc.org/attachments/Order_Citizens_v_Bruning.pdf