Nebraska Initiative 416, officially titled "Ban Same-Sex Marriage Act", was a 2000 ballot initiative that amended the

Nebraska Constitution The Nebraska Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Nebraska. All acts of the Nebraska Legislature, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. The constitution has been amended 228 times since it ...

to make it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, same-sex

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

s, or

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who live together and share a common domestic life but who are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive legal be ...

s. The referendum was approved on November 7, 2000, by 70% of the voters, and it became Article I-29 of the state's Constitution. The initiative has since been struck down in federal court and

is now legally recognized in the state of Nebraska. As of April 2025, Article I-29 of the Nebraska Constitution remains an

unconstitutional constitutional amendment An unconstitutional constitutional amendment is a concept in judicial review based on the idea that even a properly passed and properly ratified constitutional amendment, specifically one that is not explicitly prohibited by a constitution's text ...

. It can repealed by either an

initiated constitutional amendment In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place legislation on the ballot for a referendum or popular vote, either enacting new legislation, or voting down existing legi ...

, a state constitutional convention, or by a

legislatively referred A legislative referral (or legislative referendum) is a referendum in which a legislature puts proposed legislation up for popular vote. This may either be voluntarily or, as is the case in many countries for a constitutional amendment, as a man ...

constitutional amendment that requires a three-fifths vote in the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

and a majority vote in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

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.''

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

Campaign

The

petition drive A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an official ...

that put the proposed amendment on the Nebraska ballot was organized by Guyla Mills, director of Nebraska Family Council. Mills explained her organization's motives, stating: "This is not about hate, this is about love. The Defense of Marriage Act movement was just a platform we had to share the love of Jesus Christ."Baker, Tess N. (January 12, 2001). "Family Council celebrates"
''Lincoln Journal Star''.
Retrieved July 7, 2019. A group called the Coalition for Protection of Marriage ran advertisements in support of the marriage ban. The coalition was chaired by former governor

Kay Orr Kay Avonne Orr (née Stark; January 2, 1939) is an American politician who served as the 36th governor of Nebraska from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, she was the state's first and to date only female governor. Early life and ...

and Omaha businessman Bill Ramsey. Dan Parsons of Family First, a Christian-based policy group, served as the coalition spokesman. The

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...

and Nebraska Catholic Conference were also coalition members. The proposed amendment was opposed by United Students against 416, a group of

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

students, and by the

Nebraska Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights The Nebraska Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights, later called the Nebraska Coalition for LGBT Civil Rights, was an advocacy group in Nebraska that operated from 1981 to approximately 2002. Based in Lincoln, the group advocated for LGBT civ ...

Result

Lawsuits

In 2003, a coalition of gay and lesbian advocacy organizations challenged the constitutionality of Article I, Section 29 of Nebraska's Constitution in '' Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning''. In 2005, Judge

Joseph Bataillon Joseph Francis Bataillon (born October 3, 1949) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Education and career Bataillon was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He received a Bachelor of ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, declaring that Section 29 was unconstitutional and its enforcement was permanently enjoined. Judge Bataillon determined that this law violated the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

the First Amendment The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of t ...

, and the prohibition on

bills of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a ...

found in the

Contract Clause Article One of the United States Constitution#Clause 1: Contract Clause, Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, known as the Contract Clause, imposes certain prohibitions on the U.S. state, states. These prohibitio ...

. However, in 2006, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western ...

overturned Judge Bataillon's decision using a traditional rational basis review. The Eighth Circuit concluded that "laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples ... do not violate the Constitution of the United States." On November 17, 2014, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, ''Waters et al. v. Heineman,'' in federal court on behalf of seven same-sex couples seeking to overturn Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage. The case was renamed '' Waters v. Ricketts'' in 2015 when Peter Ricketts succeeded Dave Heineman as Governor. Judge of the District Court again presided over the case and ruled once again that the measure violated the U.S. Constitution on the grounds of equal protection and due process. Although the state appealed and successfully obtained a stay of the ruling from the

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Dist ...

, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

ultimately struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide based on identical grounds in the matter of ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

''. With this Supreme Court decision, the Eighth Circuit Court lifted the stay of Judge 's ruling, officially negating Initiative 416. As a result, Nebraska officials and agencies are formally prohibited from enforcing the ban on same-sex marriage in the state.

Status

In February 2016, Judge Bataillon issued a permanent injunction that overturned the state's now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling mandated that state officials regard same-sex couples equally to opposite-sex couples in all matters, including the processing of marriage licenses and the issuance of birth certificates. Following ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' the text of Initiative 416 is

dead letter Dead letter mail or undeliverable mail is mail that cannot be delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender. This is usually due to lack of compliance with postal regulations, an incomplete address and return address, or the inability to ...

and is not enforced. It remains a part of the constitution. The

Nebraska Family Alliance The Nebraska Family Alliance (NFA) is a Christian fundamentalism, fundamentalist Christian 501(c)(3) organization based in Lincoln, Nebraska. It most prominently lobbies against LGBT rights, such as same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption. The NFA al ...

and Nebraska Catholic Conference continue to oppose efforts to remove the text of Initiative 416 from the Constitution following the court rulings. In 2019, Governor

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

vetoed a bill that would require marriage applications, licenses and certificates to refer to a married couple as “Applicant 1" and “Applicant 2.”

References