A US District judge ruled on Monday that the gay marriage ban enforced by the state of Nebraska is unconstitutional and must be lifted.

US District Judge Joseph Bataillon's ordered the state of Nebraska not to enforce its ban on gay marriage because it violates the US constitution.

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"Unabashedly gender-specific infringement of the equal rights of its citizens," Bataillon said in its ruling.

The decision, however, will only take effect on March 9 because the state of Nebraska said it plans to appeal the ruling.

Bataillon made the ruling based on the complaints filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska against the state on behalf of seven same-sex couples that challenged the ban.

The ban on same-sex marriage was actually enforced by the state after it got the approval of 70 percent of voters in 2000.

Aside from disallowing gay marriage, the Nebraska ban also forbids civil unions and legalized domestic partnerships within the state.

In 2005, Bataillon struck down the ban, saying it violated the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians.

The ban, however, was reinstated by an 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The call to lift the bank was revived when same-sex couples Susan and Sally Waters of Omaha and six other couples filed the lawsuit, claiming the ban harm them every day.

Susan and Sally have been together for 17 years and were legally married in California in 2008. The couple returned to Nebraska, their native state, in 2010.

Bil Roby and his partner of 28 years, Greg Tubach, join Susan and Sally as plaintiffs seeking to the lift the ban.

A total of 37 states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage. 

TagsNebraska gay marriage, Nebraska same sex marriage