Lincoln – A state lawmaker known as a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community presented a ballot measure to a legislative committee last Friday that would abolish the state’s unenforceable ban on same-sex marriages.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln argued that voters should have the chance to strip the ban out of the Nebraska Constitution, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that such restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution and can’t be enforced.

Pansing Brooks said putting the issue on the ballot would allow voters to show that public attitudes toward same-sex marriage have changed in Nebraska. The amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman was enshrined in Nebraska’s constitution in 2000, with 70% support from voters.

“It’s become clear that we have reached something close to a national consensus of public opinion on this issue,” Pansing Brooks said. “In light of this, the discriminatory language in our constitution banning marriage equality, as well as civil unions and domestic partnerships, feels archaic and even embarrassing.”

Pansing Brooks said the measure would help create an image of Nebraska as a welcoming place for young people and help the state economy.

Socially conservative groups oppose the measure, arguing that marriage can only be between one man and one woman and that purported economic benefits are overblown.

Marion Miner, representing the Nebraska Catholic Conference, acknowledged the ban as unenforceable as long as the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is authoritative.

“But its repeal would signal that Nebraska has abandoned the understanding of marriage as the singular institution for upholding the most basic natural right of children, after the right to life itself,” Miner said.

No immediate action was taken on LR 20CA.

This report contains material from the Unicameral Information Office.