Eight same-sex couples sued the state some time ago, arguing that an amendment approved by voters through a statewide referendum in 2002 is invalid because it violates the United States Constitution.
A federal judge agreed with the couples last year, but the state appealed that ruling. Nevada faced an uphill battle with its appeal, based on the growing legal trend supporting marriage equality.
"After thoughtful review and analysis, the state has determined that its arguments … are no longer sustainable," said Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.
Masto, a Democrat, withdrew from the court case. Governor Brian Sandoval, a Republican seeking re-election this year, agreed with the attorney general's decision.
"Based on the advice of the attorney general's office and their interpretation of relevant case law, it has become clear that this case is no longer defensible in court," Sandoval said.
The only legal party now defending the marriage ban is the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which has lost battles in recent years on anti-gay causes.
The appeals court that would decide the case is the same one that ruled that California's Proposition 5 was unconstitutional because it denied same-sex couples equal treatment under the law.
In 2002, Nevada voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. That sentiment is now waning. The state Legislature is now working at undoing the referendum.
Last year, the Legislature voted to repeal of the constitutional amendment but for the action to become final, the Legislature would have to approve the repeal again in 2015 and submit the question to the voters in 2016.
A public opinion poll conducted last year showed that 57 percent of likely Nevada voters support same-sex marriage.
So one way or another, full marriage equality is coming to Nevada. The only question is whether it will come through the federal courts or by the time-consuming constitutional process.
For the time being, same-sex couples still cannot be married in Nevada. What's likely to happen next is the federal appeals court would kill the marriage ban. That would clear the way for the Nevada Legislature to approve a marriage equality law, next year if not this one.
Seventeen states now allow marriages between same-sex couples. Within the past two months, federal district courts have overturned bans on same-sex marriage in two strongly conservative states, Utah and Oklahoma. However, both states plan to appeal the rulings.
State officials in Utah and Oklahoma are counting on a federal appeals court in Denver to invalidate the lower courts' rulings. The federal appeals court that covers those states is more conservative than the one involved in the Nevada case. The hearings on those cases are scheduled for April.
The losing party is likely to appeal to the United States Supreme Court, which could determine the issues surrounding same-sex marriages once and for all.
In the meantime, Oklahoma's Legislature has become, well, berserk, about the idea of same-sex marriage.
One legislator wants to have a second voter referendum to ban same-sex marriage. A second is so determined to keep Oklahoma free of same-sex marriages that he has proposed a bill that would end state-sanctioned marriage altogether--gay or straight.
YELLOW: Same-sex marriage is legal.
BLUE: Same-sex marriage is prohibited by law or constitutional amendment.
GREEN: Progress has been made, but the final outcome remains to be seen.
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