BY KEN RITTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS -- A national gay rights advocacy group took its state-by-state fight for same-sex marriage equality to a federal court for the first time Tuesday, filing a lawsuit in a bid to force Nevada to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund lawsuit focused on the differences between rights granted by a domestic partnership law passed by the state Legislature in 2009 and a gay marriage ban made part of the state constitution by voters in 2002.
It seeks to void the constitutional ban "and any other sources of state law that exclude same-sex couples from marriage," and to recover unspecified legal costs and fees. It claims eight same-sex couples are being discriminated against because they aren't allowed to marry.
"Nevada already gives same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities of family, parenting and relationships," said Tara Borelli, a Los Angeles-based Lambda Legal attorney. "What is the reason for not giving them the one word that says it all?"
Comments