A federal judge has
ruled for marriage equality in Nebraska in a decision that the state is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit:
Even if the State's purported justifications could be seen as important interests, a same-sex marriage ban is simply not substantially related to those interests.
The court agrees with Judge Posner's statement in Baskin that "these cases are about discrimination against the small homosexual minority in the United States. But at a deeper level, as we shall see, they are about the welfare of American children."
The concerns about the welfare of children are
very concrete and immediate for one of the plaintiff couples:
The plaintiffs include Sally Waters, who has stage four breast cancer that has spread and wants Nebraska to recognize her 2008 marriage to Susan Waters in California in part to provide critical financial protections for their children.
If the 8th Circuit does not stay the decision, marriage equality will go into effect in Nebraska on March 9.