Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Nebraska may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

The state prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County and a subsequent decision of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.

[1] 2019 polling from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 73% of Nebraska residents supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people.

In the 1910 case of Kinnan v. State, the Nebraska Supreme Court unanimously ruled that fellatio (oral sex) was not a violation of the sodomy statute.

In response, the Nebraska Legislature revised certain parts of the law in 1913, outlawing fellatio and reducing the maximum penalty for sodomy to 20 years in jail.

[3] In 1929, Nebraska amended its sterilization law to make it applicable to state inmates who were "feeble-minded, insane, habitual criminals, moral degenerates or sexual perverts".

[4][5] The unicameral Nebraska Legislature accomplished the repeal by overriding the veto of the original legislation by Governor J. James Exon by the minimum margin, 32 to 15.

Kathy Pettersen and Beverly Reicks were the first same-sex couple to file marriage paperwork at the Douglas County Clerk's Office on June 26, 2015.

In April 2017, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld that decision and struck down the state's ban on same-sex couples becoming foster parents.

[19] In October 2021, an unmarried female same-sex couple is suing the state of Nebraska with a lawsuit because of discrimination and a "lack of parental recognition" - on their own and each other's biological children's birth certificates.

[20] Following the 2020 court case of Bostock v. Clayton County, employment discrimination against LGBTQ people by reason of their sexual orientation or gender identity became illegal in the US, including in Nebraska.

Bills to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity were introduced in the Nebraska Legislature a number of times,[22][23] but all were rejected or stalled.

In February 2022, Lincoln City Council by a 5–0 vote passed a local ordinance to explicitly include both sexual orientation and gender identity within all areas of employment, accommodation and housing.

[31][32][33] In early August 2020, the Nebraska Legislature passed a resolution, sponsored by Senator Patty Pansing Brooks, expressing support for the Bostock decision, by a 28 to 8 vote with several abstentions and absences.

[34] In August 2020, the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission announced in light of Bostock that it will investigate and resolve cases alleging housing discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity.

[35] Marna Munn, the executive director of the Commission at the time, said, "We will now be investigating housing claims on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

If the person is a minor, it only needs to run for two weeks[45] The Nebraska School Activities Association requires transgender students wishing to participate in athletics to show evidence of hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery.

[46] In May 2023, a bill passed the Nebraska Legislature by a vote of 33-15 after "numerous filibusters and delays" to legally ban gender-affirming healthcare on individuals under the age of 19 being minors (similar to Alabama).

[53] In 1997, Nebraska passed a hate crime law, reading "A person in the State of Nebraska has the right to live free from violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against his or her person or the destruction or vandalism of, or intimidation by threat of destruction or vandalism of, his or her property regardless of his or her race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability".

Ryan Langenegger and two gay friends were eating at a restaurant at the Old Market in Omaha, but left after overhearing three other male customers using homophobic slurs.

A jury convicted Duncan of third-degree assault and a hate crime charge, noting that while Langenegger was straight, state statutes specifies that those in the company of specific groups deserve protection as well.

[58] A 2022 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) opinion poll found that 60% of Nebraska residents supported same-sex marriage, while 33% opposed it and 6% were unsure.