[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Nebraska [advocacy websites] and the Nebraska law firm Koenig | Dunne [official website] on Monday filed a lawsuit [text, PDF] challenging Nebraska’s exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the District of Nebraska [official website], was drafted [press release] in representation of seven couples who are seeking state recognition of their marriages. The state’s ban on same-sex marriage, according to the plaintiffs, constitutes unlawful discrimination against same-sex couples and their children. The suit seeks injunctive relief for the alleged violation of their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment [text] of the US Constitution.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] continues to be one of the most controversial legal issues in the US today. Since the US Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act [text] last year, numerous state and federal courts have declared state same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. Earlier this week the Kansas Supreme Court decided [JURIST report] to allow same-sex marriage licenses to be issued in the most populous county in Kansas. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s [official website] recent decision that upheld same-sex marriage bans [JURIST report] in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee has increased the likelihood that federal rulings declaring same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional will go to the Supreme Court.