Lambda Legal, the LGBT 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, reports the website.
Plaintiffs Beverly Sevcik, 73, and Mary Baranovich, 76, of Carson City
On behalf of eight Nevada-based same-sex couples, the lawsuit focuses 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.
“This lawsuit seeks the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in the state of Nevada and is tailored to be a responsible building block for future marriage equality work,” says staff attorney Tara Borelli. “One of the reasons that we’re suing in the state of Nevada is that this is a particular equal protection problem that this case examines. It’s the kind of problem created where a state excludes same-sex couples from marriage deems them fit for all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage through a lesser, second-class status—in this case, domestic partnership.”
The lead plaintiffs in the case are Beverly Sevcik, 73, and Mary Baranovich, 76, of Carson City, who’ve been together for nearly 41 years and have raised three children and have four grandchildren.
“After four decades of sharing a life together, all we want is to commemorate our love for each other in the same way as other couples, through marriage,” Sevcik said in the lawsuit.
Other plaintiffs include four couples from Las Vegas, two couples in Reno and another Carson City couple who have been together for 15 years.
Half the couples involved in the lawsuit, including Sevcik and Baranovich, recently tried to obtain marriage licenses in Nevada and were refused because of their same-gender relationship. The rest have obtained marriage licenses in other states where same-sex marriage is allowed and want to have their marriage recognized by their home state.
Photo: lambdalegal.org
