Free Republic

Well, a federal judge has done it again--nullified the results of an election. And as usual, he did it for the very best of reasons: the ACLU asked him to. The victim this time is the people of Nebraska, who voted by an overwhelming margin (70% to 30%) to amend their constitution. The trigger man this time is a federal judge named Joseph "Election? Don't make me laugh! HAHAHA!" Bataillon. Get this: Bataillon ruled that it was unconstitutional for the people to amend their constitution. Bypassing those shibboleths currently in vogue among his judicial colleagues--Canadian law, European Court rulings, and...

Pro-family groups across the nation accused a federal judge in Nebraska of judicial activism after he became the first in the U.S. to strike down a state amendment barring same-sex marriage or civil unions, nullifying a Nebraska measure passed by 70 percent of voters in 2000. "This is a blatant display of judicial arrogance where a non-elected federal judge has shown a total disregard for what 70 percent of Nebraska voters stated, marriage is between one man and one woman," said Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council. "This unfortunate act of judicial activism makes it very clear that marriage...

LINCOLN, Neb., May 12 (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the measure interfered not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a variety of other living arrangements. The amendment to the state's Constitution, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2000. The Nebraska ruling is the first in which a federal court has struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage, and conservatives in the United...

LINCOLN, Neb. - A federal judge Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on gay marriage, saying the measure interferes not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a host of other living arrangements. The constitutional amendment, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2000. U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon said the ban "imposes significant burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights" of gays "and creates a significant barrier to the plaintiffs' right to petition...

Ruling says measure interferes with rights of gays, others. WASHINGTON - In the first time that a federal judge has struck down a state constitutional provision limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon on Thursday declared void a provision of the Nebraska constitution that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman and that banned same-sex civil unions, domestic partnerships and other similar relationships. Bataillon declared in his ruling that under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Nebraska cannot ban same-sex marriages and civil unions...

A federal judge Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on gay marriage, saying the measure interferes not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a host of other living arrangements. The constitutional amendment, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2000. U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon said the ban "imposes significant burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights" of gays "and creates a significant barrier to the plaintiffs' right to petition or to participate...

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon struck down Thursday Nebraska's constitutional provision prohibiting gay marriage or civil unions. The constitutional amendment, known as Initiative 416, passed in 2000 with 70 percent of the vote. It prevents homosexuals who work for the state or the University of Nebraska system from sharing health insurance and other benefits with their partners. A group of lesbian and gay couples sued the state of Nebraska, contending the act barred "lesbian, gay and bisexual people from using the ordinary political process to seek important legal protections that all other Nebraskans already have." Forty states have so-called "Defense...