A federal appeals court has declared California’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, paving the way for a likely U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the voter-approved law and could have a ripple-effect on Nevada Laws pertaining to same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 that a lower court judge interpreted the U.S. Constitution correctly in 2010 when he declared the ban, known as Proposition 8, to be a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

An April 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 74% of Nevada voters supported legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 33% supporting same-sex marriage and 41% supporting civil unions, while 25% opposed all legal recognition and 2% were not sure.

An August 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that 45% of Nevada voters supported legalizing same-sex marriage, with 44% thinking it should be illegal, and 11% were not sure. In a separate question, 77% of Nevada voters supported legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 39% supporting same-sex marriage and 38% supporting civil unions, while 22% opposed all legal recognition and 2% were not sure.

The California measure, which passed with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, outlawed same-sex unions just five months after they became legal in the state. Same-sex marriage in Nevada was banned in 2002 through Question 2, an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada, which passed with almost 67 percent of the vote.

In 2009, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to create legal recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada. This bill would create a domestic partnership registry that enables same-sex couples to enjoy the same rights as married couples. It would also allow opposite-sex couples to obtain the benefits of marriage without a marriage license. The bill was vetoed, as promised, by Governor Jim Gibbons, but that veto was overridden by the legislature on May 31, 2009. The law took effect on October 1, 2009.

Lawyers for Proposition 8 sponsors and for two couples who sued to overturn the ban have said they would appeal to the Supreme Court if they did not receive a favorable ruling from the 9th Circuit.
In May 2009 the Las Vegas Review-Journal polled Nevadans for their opinion on the domestic partnership bill and found that 38 percent favored it, while 50 percent opposed it and 12 percent were undecided. Self-identified Democrats supported the domestic partner legislation 46 percent to 36 percent. Similarly, independents showed 47 percent support and 42 percent opposition. Republicans expressed much stronger opposition, 71 percent; only 23 percent of Republicans supported the bill.