Courts Restore Neb. Gay Marriage Ban, Keep Proposed Ban on Tenn. Ballot
Another Double Victory for Traditional Marriage Advocates
By Kevin O'Hanlon
Associated Press Writer
Fri, Jul. 14 2006

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Supporters of banning gay marriage won two major court rulings Friday, with a federal appeals court reinstating Nebraska's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage and the Tennessee Supreme Court dismissing an effort to keep a proposed ban off the November ballot.

Last week, the highest courts in two others states also dealt gay rights advocates setbacks. The New York court rejected a bid by same-sex couples to win marriage rights, and the Georgia court reinstated a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage there.

In the Nebraska case, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a judge's ruling last year that the ban was too broad and deprived gays and lesbians of participation in the political process, among other things.

The amendment "and other laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests and therefore do not violate the Constitution of the United States," the appeals court ruled.

Seventy percent of Nebraska voters had approved the ban in 2000. the rest