Gay marriage debate from amendment to gun bill

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www.omaha.com/news/legislature/i-think-we-just-recognized-gay-marriage-lawmaker-says-after/article_ec438da2-9d0f-54ff-a8cc-9491e4564730.html

'I think we just recognized gay marriage,' lawmaker says after amendment to gun permit bill

LINCOLN — Granting military spouses the right to carry concealed handguns in Nebraska triggered a debate over gay marriage Tuesday in the Nebraska Legislature.

Current law allows nonresident military members to apply for a concealed gun permit without having to first live in Nebraska for 180 days to establish residency. A bill advanced from the first round of debate on a 37-4 vote would waive the residency period for military spouses who want to apply for gun permits.

Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus, however, questioned whether the bill would allow same-sex spouses to obtain gun permits given Nebraska’s constitutional ban on gay marriage. He proposed an amendment so the gun privilege would apply to anyone receiving the federal benefits of a military spouse.

The Department of Defense extended benefits to same-sex spouses in 2013 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

“Is not the Second Amendment sex blind? Color blind?” Schumacher said. “What great evil would come from saying a partner of somebody in the military … is entitled to exercise their Second Amendment rights to carry a concealed weapon in this state?”

The amendment was adopted by a vote of 38-0.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna, who did not vote for or against the bill, expressed concern that the Schumacher amendment could be used to challenge Nebraska’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“I think we just recognized gay marriage,” he said moments after the vote. “We are now using the federal government’s standard for who receives marriage benefits.”

Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins, who sponsored the measure, said he does not think the amendment language will open up the state’s marriage law to attack. The state constitution definitively says gay marriage is not recognized within Nebraska’s borders, he added.

The forms that a gun permit applicant fill out ask nothing about the gender of an applicant’s spouse, Bloomfield said.

Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, a strong supporter of allowing Nebraska same-sex couples to marry, voted against the bill because he opposes pro-gun legislation. But he voted for the Schumacher amendment.

Afterward, Chambers, who holds a law degree, declined to give his legal opinion of the legislation that advanced to the second of three rounds of debate.

“The bill says what it says and does what it does,” he said.

The state’s ban on gay marriage is already under legal challenge in a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court. And the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on whether states have the authority to prohibit and refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.

[downtoearth]

I guess that is one way to get around state-based same-sex marriage bans, and it would be funny if someone uses it to claim their marriage to a same-sex partner is recognized in that state. But honestly, who can't wait 180 days in a state to get a conceal carry permit? I don't want conceal carry to be so "common" that carrying a hidden firearm seems like a right greater than same-sex marriage.

[pixy0stix]

I love this forever.