NEBRASKA: Federal Judge Denies Motion To Stay Marriage Case Pending SCOTUS

Via the Lincoln Journal-Star:

A federal judge on Tuesday denied the state's motion to stay a lawsuit challenging Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriages and set a Feb. 19 hearing on a motion that would force the state to allow them while the case is pending. "Let it suffice to say that the State defendants have not made a sufficient showing that a delay in the outcome is necessary," Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon wrote. In November, seven same-sex couples sued Nebraska's governor, attorney general and other state officials, as well as Lancaster County Clerk Dan Nolte, seeking the right to marry in Nebraska or to have their marriages in other states recognized in Nebraska. Attorneys Susan Koenig of Dunne Divorce Law of Omaha and Amy Miller of the ACLU of Nebraska sought a preliminary injunction that, if successful, would force the state to grant the licenses, arguing that the couples' constitutional rights are being violated every day the state ban stands.

RELATED: In 2005 Judge Bataillon struck down Nebraska's constitutional amendment which barred the recognition of same-sex marriages or civil unions from other states, becoming the first judge in US history to ever invalidate such a law on federal constitutional grounds. The following year the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his ruling. Bataillon was appointed by Bill Clinton.