A federal judge on Tuesday struck down
Nebraska's unenforceable ban on gay marriage.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon
issued a permanent injunction ordering state officials to treat gay
and lesbian couples the same as opposite-sex couples in matters
ranging from marriage licenses to birth certificates.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck
down similar bans as unconstitutional in a case challenging laws from
four states.
State attorneys had argued that since
the state was complying with the high court's order the
injunction was not needed.
Plaintiffs in the case pointed to an
attempt last year by state officials to exclude the spouses of gay
couples on their children's birth certificates in arguing that the
order was necessary.
Republican Governor Pete Ricketts, a
defendant in the case, last year said that voters should decide the
issue, not an “activist judge.”