South African divestment

Because of a legislative resolution Chambers introduced in 1980, Nebraska became the first state to divest from South Africa in protest of apartheid.^[20][21] Upon discovering that the University of Nebraska held several hundred gold Krugerrands as an investment, Chambers introduced a nonbinding resolution calling for reinvestment of state pension funds that had been invested directly or indirectly in South Africa.^[22] The resolution argued that apartheid was contrary to Nebraska's principles of human rights and legal equality.^[23]

Nebraska's divestment caused little immediate change in business practices; David Packard of Hewlett-Packard said, "I'd rather lose business in Nebraska than with South Africa."^[24] But other state governments and eventually the federal government followed Nebraska's example, contributing to the end of apartheid. Chambers spearheaded a stronger 1984 law mandating divestment, resulting in Nebraska's public employee pension funds divesting $14.6 million in stocks issued by companies that did business with South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu later visited Lincoln, where he remarked that Nebraska had helped to end apartheid. The state government conspicuously did not invite Chambers to Tutu's speaking event.^[25]

Marsh v. Chambers

Chambers filed a lawsuit in 1980 attempting to end the Legislature's practice of beginning its session with a prayer offered by a state-supported chaplain, arguing that it was unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.^[26] The district court held that the prayer did not violate the Constitution, but that state support for the chaplain did. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that both practices violated the Constitution,^[27] but in Marsh v. Chambers (1983), the Supreme Court held by a 6–3 vote that both practices were constitutional because of the United States' "unique history".^[28]

1986 NCAA student athletes as state employees

Chambers has promoted recognizing NCAA student athletes as state employees since the 1980s, arguing that they are generating revenue for their universities without any legal benefits for doing so, which encourages illegal payments and gifts. A bill on this issue was passed by the Legislature but was unable to overcome the governor's veto. After it was revealed that requiring student athletes to be recognized as state employees would jeopardize any university's NCAA standing, the language of the bill was changed so that a university could allow for players to be paid a stipend, after which the bill passed and was signed by the governor in 2003.^[29]

1989 Franklin scandal

According to The New York Times, unidentified people present at a closed meeting reported that Chambers claimed he heard credible reports of "boys and girls, some of them from foster homes, who had been transported around the country by airplane to provide sexual favors, for which they were rewarded."^[30]

Investigating what became known as the Franklin child prostitution ring allegations, a Nebraska grand jury was convened to investigate the allegations and possibly return indictments. Eventually, the grand jury ruled the entire matter was "a carefully crafted hoax," although they failed to identify the perpetrators of the hoax.^[31]

1993 LGBT anti-discrimination bill

Nebraska's LGBT community has considered Chambers an ally since the 1970s.^[33] In 1993, he co-sponsored a bill to prohibit employment discrimination by sexual orientation.^[34] The bill faced fierce opposition. Opponents of the anti-discrimination legislation formed a Nebraska chapter of the Traditional Values Coalition and brought activist Lou Sheldon to Lincoln to organize antigay rallies outside the Capitol building.^[35]

Despite the opposition, Chambers sponsored another LGBT anti-discrimination bill in 1995.^[36] He continued to support similar measures throughout his career in the legislature. None of them has been successful.^[37]

2006 Omaha Public Schools controversy

In April 2006, Chambers introduced legislative bill (LB) 1024, an amendment to a bill that would divide the Omaha Public Schools district into three different districts.^[38] The bill and its amendment were created in response to an effort by the district to "absorb a string of largely white schools that were within the Omaha city limits but were controlled by suburban or independent districts."^[39] Omaha Schools claimed that the usurpation was necessary to avoid financial and racial inequity, but supporters of LB 1024 contested the district's expansion, favoring more localized control. The bill received national attention and some critics called it "state-sponsored segregation".^[40]

LB 641, passed in 2007, repealed and superseded LB 1024, restoring pre-2006 Omaha-area school district boundaries, after which a "learning community" was created to equalize student achievement in Douglas and Sarpy counties.^[41][42]

2007 lawsuit against God

Wikinews has related news:

• Nebraska Senator sues God
• Judge in Nebraska says thou shalt not sue God

Some members of the Nebraska legislature attempted to ban frivolous lawsuits from Nebraska's court system in 2007. Chambers believed that this attempt was misguided, and that access to the court system should not be restricted. To dramatize his point that the court system must be entirely open, Chambers filed a lawsuit against God^[43] in Douglas County district court in September 2007.^[44] It argued that God has caused "widespread death, destruction, and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."^[43]

Nebraska media inaccurately reported that Chambers's lawsuit against God was intended as an ironic protest against frivolous lawsuits. Chambers clarified that, on the contrary, his lawsuit against God "emphasized that attempts by the Legislature to prohibit the filing of any lawsuit would run afoul of the Nebraska Constitution's guarantee that the doors to the courthouse must be open to everyone."^[45]

The Westboro Baptist Church filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit arguing that Chambers did not have standing to sue, and that he was "fully deserving of the outpourings of God's fierce wrath." In response, Chambers voiced disagreement with the church but argued that the church's access to the court system must be protected, just like his.^[46]

The lawsuit was dismissed in October 2008 because a summons notifying God of the lawsuit could not be delivered to the defendant, who has no listed address. Chambers countered that, because of God's omniscience, God had been notified,^[47] but decided not to pursue the suit further.^[45]

Capital punishment

Chambers is a firm opponent of the death penalty, and introduced a bill to repeal Nebraska's capital punishment law at the start of each legislative session, 36 times over 40 years.^[48][49] The bill, LB268,^[50] passed the legislature in 1979 but could not overcome Governor Charles Thone's veto; the issue remained a primary focus of his while in office.^[51]

In 2015, Chambers again introduced LB268. The measure passed the legislature over Governor Pete Ricketts's veto. Following the veto, a petition drive was undertaken to reject the bill and maintain capital punishment. Enough signatures were secured to suspend LB268 until the November 2016 general election; in the election, 60% of the votes cast favored rejecting the repeal and keeping the death penalty.^[52][53][54]

Assorted legislation

• Chambers has long advocated on behalf of David Rice and Ed Poindexter, who were convicted of the murder of an Omaha police officer; Amnesty International considers them political prisoners.
• Often clashing with fellow senators, Chambers has taken on several issues of concern to rural Nebraskans during his tenure, such as a bill requiring landowners to manage the population of black-tailed prairie dogs on their property and a proposed constitutional amendment to preserve the right to fish, trap and hunt in the state. Chambers described the latter measure as one of the most "asinine, simple-minded pieces of trash" ever considered by the legislature.^[55] In 2004 Chambers co-authored an opinion piece with U.S. Representative Tom Osborne opposing a set of initiatives that would allow casino gambling and slot machines in Nebraska.^[56] Chambers also opposed proposed funding of the state's ethanol plant incentive programs, calling them "a boondoggle".^[57]
• Chambers has long supported feminist goals. For example, he argued forcefully in favor of a law against sexually assaulting one's spouse in 1975 that made Nebraska the first US state to outlaw marital assault.^[58]
• In 2006, Chambers withdrew support from two tax incentive bills that would have provided funding for Omaha and Lincoln civic building projects. He said he withdrew support because Omaha business leaders had insulted the legislature and the North Omaha community he represents by criticizing the passage of LB 1024. He was also insulted by the Omaha City Council's refusal to name a North Omaha park after him despite that neighborhood's request to do so.^[59]
• In 2015, Chambers introduced LB473, opposing the Keystone XL pipeline.^[60]
• In 2016, Chambers filibustered a bill that would have changed Nebraska's congressional district method of electoral college vote splitting into a winner-take-all system like that of other US states. Because the vote-splitting method was preserved, one district in Nebraska assigned an electoral college vote to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.^[61]