Victory!

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Nebraska and the law firm of Koenig | Dunne have filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of seven couples who seek state recognition of their marriages or who seek the freedom to marry in Nebraska.

The plaintiffs include Susan and Sally Waters of Omaha who have been together for 17 years. In January 2013, Sally was diagnosed with breast cancer and her future is uncertain. Meet all seven couples fighting for the freedom to marry.

The ACLU of Nebraska and the Media Freedom Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School filed a lawsuit on behalf of journalist Emily Bazelon and web-based magazine Slate, alleging that the Lincoln Police Department failed to comply with Nebraska’s Public Records Act.

The lawsuit stemmed from a police report filed in June of 2004 by an alleged rape victim. To the victim’s knowledge, no thorough investigation was conducted due to the prominence in Nebraska athletics of the alleged perpetrator. Nearly ten years later, the rape case was marked open even though charges have never been filed. A letter from the victim to LPD from Nov. 2013 requested that the case be marked closed and the records released to Emily. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Nebraska, and the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP have filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of three couples seeking to strike down a state policy that bans gay and lesbian individuals and couples from serving as foster parents.

The state's policy, dating from 1995, prohibits the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services from placing foster children with "persons who identify themselves as homosexuals" or persons who are "unrelated, unmarried adults residing together." The ban also prohibits these individuals from adopting children from the foster care system, since individuals must first be licensed as foster parents before they can adopt children from state custody.