to the courthouse must be open to everyone." 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. 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, but decided not to pursue the suit further. 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. The bill, LB268, 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. In 2015, Chambers introduced LB268, repealing the state's death penalty. 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. 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. 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. Chambers also opposed proposed funding of the state's ethanol plant incentive programs, calling them "a boondoggle". Chambers has long supported feminist goals. For example, he argued forcefully in favor of a law