Nevada is giving up on defending its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in court:
Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, in a motion filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said Nevada’s legal arguments defending the voter-approved prohibition aren’t viable after the court’s recent ruling that potential jurors cannot be removed from a trial during jury selection solely because of sexual orientation.
“After thoughtful review and analysis, the state has determined that its arguments grounded upon equal protection and due process are no longer sustainable,” Masto said in a statement.
The case in question is Sevcik v. Sandoval, which is attempting to overturn the constitutional ban. It was defeated in Federal Court on the basis of a 1972 case, and has been appealed. In the meantime, the Supreme Court has overturned the Federal Defence of Marriage Act as well as California's state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The writing is clearly on the wall for this sort of legal bigotry, and Nevada has recognised this and decided to be on the right side of history. It may take a few weeks for the court to recognise that the appeal is uncontested and give in, but equality is coming to Nevada.
