Appeals court to hear Nevada same-sex marriage ban case in September

CARSON CITY — A challenge to Nevada’s ban on gay marriage will be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in September although the precise day has not yet been set.

In an order dated May 23, the court granted the request by Lambda Legal to expedite an appeal brought on behalf of eight Nevada same-sex couples who want to get married. The court ordered the case placed on the September calendar.

The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which put a measure on the ballot more than a decade ago defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, is defending the ban. Voters gave final approval to the ban in 2002.

Originally Gov. Brian Sandoval was a party to the case in support of the ban as governor of Nevada, but the state is no longer defending the state’s current definition.

Sandoval has said that he personally believes that marriage is between a man and a woman. But he also said he would respect the decision of the court in the case.

In November 2012 U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones upheld Nevada’s prohibition on same-sex marriage, finding that the current definition does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Two of the plaintiffs in the Nevada case are Carson City residents Beverly Sevcik and Mary Baranovich, who met decades ago. They exchanged rings in 1971, but the appeal filed by Lambda Legal said they were turned away by the Carson City Marriage Bureau when they applied for a marriage license. They can and have registered as domestic partners under a law passed by the Legislature in 2009.

Same-sex marriage bans are being challenged around the country.

The only remaining state with a same-sex marriage ban without a legal challenge, North Dakota, is expected to see legal action filed in the next several weeks.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.