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Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Nebraska Gay Marriage Ban

A federal appeals court approved a Nebraska ban on same-sex marriage on Friday. Although the ban was previously ruled unconstitutional, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it “and other laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests and therefore do not violate the Constitution of the United States,” according to the Washington Post.

The ban was originally approved in 2000 with 70 percent of voters in favor. However, in May 2005, Nebraska judge Joseph Bataillion struck down the ban, claiming that it precluded lesbians and gays from participating in the state political process. Bataillion ruled that the ban’s “broad proscriptions could also interfere with or prevent arrangements between potential adoptive or foster parents and children, related persons living together, and people sharing custody of children as well as gay individuals,” the Associated Press reports.

Sources:

Associated Press 05/13/05; The Washington Post 7/14/06

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