LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska judge has struck down a policy that prevented same-sex couples from serving as foster parents or adopting state wards.

Lancaster County District Judge John Colborn declared the rules unconstitutional, citing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex marriage. A spokeswoman for Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said Thursday that the office was still reviewing the decision.

The administrative policy was put in place in 1995, but the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services quietly stopped enforcing the ban in 2012.

According to the ruling, the lack of enforcement created confusion within the department and among state contractors who work with state wards.

Same-sex couples were also forced to undergo a rigorous five-tier review from a DHHS caseworker, supervisor, two administrators and the director of the state’s Children and Family Services Division. Opposite-sex couples only required approval from a caseworker and supervisor.

“This is a special victory for thousands of children in Nebraska who now have more options to find loving and stable homes,” said Danielle Conrad, executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, one of three groups that sued the state on behalf of three same-sex couples.

Colborn ruled that the policy violated the due process and equal protection clauses.

State officials “have not argued, nor have they identified, any legitimate government interest to justify treating gay and lesbian individuals and gay and lesbian couples differently than heterosexual individuals and heterosexual couples in this review process,” the judge wrote.

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