In
Waters v. Ricketts, (D NE, March 2, 2015), a Nebraska federal district court issued a preliminary injunction, effective March 9, prohibiting enforcement of the state's laws that bar same-sex marriage and recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, saying:
Under existing precedent, Nebraska's same-sex marriage ban is at least deserving of heightened scrutiny because the challenged amendment proceeds "along suspect lines," as either gender-based or gender-stereotype-based discrimination.
The court's
order implementing its decision requires state officials:
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.
ACLU issued a
statement announcing the decision. According to
AP, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson plans to ask the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for an order barring county officials from issuing same-sex marriage licences while the district court opinion is appealed.
