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(Omaha, Nebraska) Attorneys who lost an appeal of
Nebraska's broad ban on any recognition of same-sex relationships say they are
still considering whether to appeal the case to the US Supreme Court.
A panel on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in
July overturned a lower court ruling that struck down the state's constitutional
amendment, ruling that the issue is a matter of state rights and not a violation
of the U-S Constitution. (story)
Last month the full court declined to reconsider
the ruling. That leaves 90 days to decide whether to go to the Supreme
Court.
"We haven't made a decision at this
point," Lambda Legal attorney Ken Upton tells the Associated Press.
"We have just begun weighing that option."
The Nebraska amendment bans any and all forms of
legal recognition for same-sex relationships, including domestic partnerships
and other basic protections.
While it is more sweeping than amendments to
constitutions in most other states that ban same-sex marriage taking the case to
the Supreme Court now could potentially harm the outcomes of cases in other
states.
Upton said that a decision will be made in
consultation with the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Project, the other group with which
Lambda launched the original court challenge.
The amendment was passed in 2000 with 70 percent
of the vote and the two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit.
Lambda Legal called it "the most extreme
antigay family law in the nation.
In May 2005 a federal judge struck down the
measure saying it was too sweeping. (story)
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled the
measure interferes not only with the rights of gay couples but also with foster
parents, adopted children and people in a host of other living arrangements.
Bataillon said the ban "imposes significant
burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights" of gays
and lesbians and "creates a significant barrier to the plaintiffs' right to
petition or to participate in the political process."
The state appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Eighth Circuit.
©365Gay.com 2006
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