Federal Judge strikes down Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban for second time
By Josh Haggis
A US Federal Judge has struck down Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban.
In a ruling made this afternoon (March 2), Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon said that Nebraska must begin issuing marriage licences to gay couples from March 9, reports KMTV.
“It is ordered that all relevant state officials are ordered to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage,” said Bataillon.
The Nebraska State Attorney General’s Office has already announced plans to appeal the ruling, and it will now be left up to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide whether Nebraska becomes the next state to legalise same-sex marriage.
This is the second time Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban has been fought over in court. Back in 2005, Bataillon struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban for the first time. However, the Court of Appeals later went on to reinstate the ban in 2006.
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