Nebraska Initiative 416

Nebraska Initiative 416 was a 2000 ballot initiative that amended the Nebraska Constitution to make it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriage or civil unions. The referendum was approved on November 7, 2000, by 70% of the voters.^[1] The initiative has since been struck down in federal court and same-sex marriage is now legally recognised in the state of Nebraska.

Text of amendment

The text of the amendment states:

Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Nebraska. The uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Nebraska.^[2]

Those voting yes were voting in favour of the amendment and those voting no were voting against the amendment.

Result

Choice	Votes	%
Initiative 416^[3]
Yes	477,571	70.10
No	203,667	29.90
Valid votes	681,231	100
Total votes	681,231	100.00

Lawsuits

Several gay and lesbian advocacy organizations challenged this measure in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning. In 2005, Judge Joseph F. Bataillon of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska ruled that the measure violated the United States Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and free speech, as well as its prohibition on bills of attainder. In 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overturned Judge Bataillon and ruled that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States."

In 2015, in the matter of Waters v. Ricketts, Judge Batallion of the District Court again ruled that the measure violated the U.S. Constitution, on equal protection and due process grounds. Though the state appealed and successfully sought a stay of the ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide on identical grounds in the matter of Obergefell v. Hodges. Consequently the Eighth Circuit Court lifted the stay of Judge Batallion's ruling and Initiative 416 was formally struck down, with Nebraska officials and agencies formally enjoined from enforcing the ban on same-sex marriage in the state.

References

↑ Statewide General Election 2000 Results, Constitutional Amendments and Initiative Measures, Nebraska Secretary of State, p. 21-22. Accessed 17 December 2006.
↑ Nebraska State Constitution, Article I, section 29, Nebraska Legislative Documents Legislature. Accessed 21 July 2014.
↑ "2000 Initiative General Election Results (Nebraska)". US Election Atlas.

New York Times coverage, October 21, 2009

Same-sex marriage in the United States

Main articles Timeline State constitutional amendments banning (List by type) Public opinion Status of unions by state Law Legislation Municipal domestic partnership registries Rights and responsibilities of marriage Federal government

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Virgin Islands Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Tribal sovereign nations	Blackfeet Nation Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon Coquille Indian Tribe Eastern Shoshone Tribe Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel Keeweenaw Bay Indian Community Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Northern Arapaho Tribe Oglala Sioux Tribe Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin Pascua Yaqui Tribe Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Puyallup Tribe of Indians Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community San Carlos Apache Tribe Suquamish Tribe

Civil unions or domestic partnerships also offered	California Colorado District of Columbia Hawaii Illinois Maine Maryland Nevada New Jersey Oregon Washington Wisconsin

Recognition of same-sex unions undefined by law	American Samoa

U.S. same-sex unions ballot measures

1990s	Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 (1998, see note¹) Alaska Ballot Measure 2 (1998, Ban)

2000s	California Proposition 22 (2000, Ban) Nebraska Initiative 416 (2000, Ban) Nevada Question 2 (2002, Ban) Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 3 (2004, Ban) Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban) Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban) Louisiana Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban) Michigan Proposal 04-2 (2004, Ban) Mississippi Amendment 1 (2004, Ban) Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2004, Ban) Montana Initiative 96 (2004, Ban) North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1 (2004, Ban) Ohio Issue 1 (2004, Ban) Oklahoma Question 711 (2004, Ban) Oregon Ballot Measure 36 (2004, Ban) Utah Constitutional Amendment 3 (2004, Ban) Kansas Amendment 1 (2005) Texas Proposition 2 (2005, Ban) Alabama Amendment 774 (2006) Arizona Proposition 107 (2006, Constitutional ban defeated) Colorado Amendment 43 (2006, Ban) Idaho Amendment 2 (2006) South Carolina Amendment 1 (2006, Ban) South Dakota Amendment C (2006) Tennessee Amendment 1 (2006, Ban) Marshall-Newman Amendment (Virginia) (2006, Ban) Wisconsin Referendum 1 (2006, Ban) Arizona Proposition 102 (2008, Ban) California Proposition 8 (2008, Ban) Florida Amendment 2 (2008, Ban) Maine Question 1 (2009, Legalizing legislation defeated)

2010s	North Carolina Amendment 1 (2012, Ban) Maine Question 1 (2012, Legalization) Maryland Question 6 (2012, Legalization) Minnesota Amendment 1 (2012, Proposed ban defeated) Washington Referendum 74 (2012, Legalization)

¹: De facto ban, granted Legislature authority to ban same-sex marriage. Reversed in 2013 by the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act.

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Nebraska Initiative 416

Text of amendment

Result

Lawsuits

See also

References