
The opinion by Chief Judge Joseph F. Bataillon of the federal district court in Nebraska is weak in critical respects and will be vulnerable on appeal. Its core, however, is not trivial. The Nebraska provision, particularly as interpreted by the state's attorney general, is so broad as to invalidate any legal recognition of any same-sex relationship. This has implications, the judge notes, not merely for those who would marry but for "roommates, co-tenants, foster parents, and related people who share living arrangements,  expenses, custody of children, or ownership of property." The state attorney general, in fact, interpreted it to prevent any state law allowing gay couples to make organ donation decisions for one another. The constitutional guarantee of equal protection may not require states to recognize same-sex marriage, but it unquestionably prevents a state from arbitrarily targeting gay couples for differential treatment.