OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A federal judge won’t delay a lawsuit challenging Nebraska’s gay marriage ban while the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the issue for the country.
Judge Joseph Bataillon (buh-TAL’-yuhn) in Omaha declined a request from the Nebraska attorney general’s office for the delay, saying in his ruling Jan. 27 that the state didn’t show the delay was necessary. A spokeswoman for the attorney general declined to comment.
The lawsuit was filed in November by seven same-sex couples seeking to have their marriages recognized in Nebraska despite the state’s ban passed by voters in 2000.
The nation’s high court has announced that it will decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry everywhere in America under the U.S. Constitution. A ruling on cases in four other states is expected by late June.
