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John Eric Ensign is an American veterinarian and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 2001 until his resignation in 2011 amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his attempts to hide an extramarital affair. A member of the Republican Party,Ensign previously represented Nevada's 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Following his resignation from the Senate,Ensign returned to Nevada and resumed his career as a veterinarian.
Prior to the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015),U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions of several different types passed,banning legal recognition of same-sex unions in U.S. state constitutions,referred to by proponents as "defense of marriage amendments" or "marriage protection amendments." These state amendments are different from the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment,which would ban same-sex marriage in every U.S. state,and Section 2 of the Defense of Marriage Act,more commonly known as DOMA,which allowed the states not to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. The amendments define marriage as a union between one man and one woman and prevent civil unions or same-sex marriages from being legalized,though some of the amendments bar only the latter. The Obergefell decision in June 2015 invalidated these state constitutional amendments insofar as they prevented same-sex couples from marrying,even though the actual text of these amendments remain written into the state constitutions.
Richard Ziser is an American real estate investor and socially conservative political activist belonging to the Republican Party.
Sharron Elaine Angle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Nevada,garnering 44.6 percent of the vote. On September 15,2013,she was unanimously elected the fifth President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies,and resigned in 2016 to run again for the Nevada U.S. Senator position being vacated by Harry Reid but failed to win the Republican primary. In 2018,she ran in the Republican primary for Nevada's 2nd congressional district and lost to the incumbent,Mark Amodei. Her politics have been described as far-right.
David Parks is an American politician from Las Vegas,Nevada. A Democrat,he served in the Nevada Senate for 12 years,representing the state's 7th district in Clark County. He was elected to the Senate in November 2008,prior to which he had served in the Nevada Assembly since 1996. He was term-limited in 2020 and did not run for re-election.
Dean Arthur Heller is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator representing Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada from 1995 to 2007 and U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2011. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Brian Sandoval and elected to a full term in the 2012 election. Heller unsuccessfully ran for a second term in 2018,losing to Democrat Jacky Rosen. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Nevada in 2022,and is currently the last Republican to win a Nevada U.S. Senate seat.
In response to court action in a number of states,the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Nevada,a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party,Cortez Masto served as the 32nd attorney general of Nevada from 2007 to 2015.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Nevada enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex marriage has been legal since October 8,2014,due to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Sevcik v. Sandoval. Same-sex couples may also enter a domestic partnership status that provides many of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. However,domestic partners lack the same rights to medical coverage as their married counterparts and their parental rights are not as well defined. Same-sex couples are also allowed to adopt children. Since 2022 the Nevada Constitution explicitly includes both sexual orientation and gender identity - discrimination laws since 1999 included sexual orientation for employment and expanded thereafter to housing and accommodation. In addition,conversion therapy on minors is outlawed in the state.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Nevada since October 9,2014,when a federal district court judge issued an injunction against enforcement of Nevada's same-sex marriage ban,acting on order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit had ruled two days earlier that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage was previously banned by an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada,which was approved by voters in 2002. The statutory ban on same-sex marriages was repealed by the Nevada Legislature in 2017,and the constitutional ban was repealed by voters in 2020 by 62–38 percent.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Delaware enjoy the same legal protections as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Delaware since January 1,1973. On January 1,2012,civil unions became available to same-sex couples,granting them the "rights,benefits,protections,and responsibilities" of married persons. Delaware legalized same-sex marriage on July 1,2013.
The establishment of lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the U.S. state of Connecticut is a recent phenomenon,with most advances in LGBT rights taking place in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Connecticut was the second U.S. state to enact two major pieces of pro-LGBT legislation;the repeal of the sodomy law in 1971 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2008. State law bans unfair discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment,housing and public accommodations,and both conversion therapy and the gay panic defense are outlawed in the state.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Idaho face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Idaho,and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since October 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity;however,the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities and counties provide further protections,namely in housing and public accommodations. A 2019 Public Religion Research Institute opinion poll showed that 71% of Idahoans supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people,and a 2016 survey by the same pollster found majority support for same-sex marriage.
Patricia Ann Spearman is an American cleric,veteran,and Democratic politician from North Las Vegas,Nevada. She was elected in November 2012 to the Nevada Senate representing District 1,that is composed of the northern section of North Las Vegas and slivers of neighboring jurisdictions,after defeating incumbent John Jay Lee in the primary,and winning the general election. Spearman became the first openly lesbian member of the Nevada Legislature. She was re-elected in November 2016,and serves as co-majority whip since. Regarded as one of the most liberal members of the Nevada Senate,Spearman has introduced bills that provide equal pay for women,support LGBT rights,and support veterans. Spearman is also a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. Moreover,she was involved in the process of establishing the Nevada Revenue Plan during the 2015 session. On October 6,2021,Spearman entered the 2022 race for Mayor of North Las Vegas,Nevada.
Andrew Martin is an American politician and certified public accountant who has served as the Clark County Democratic Party Chair,as a Member of the Nevada State Economic Forum,a Member of the Clark County School District Bond Oversight Committee,and as a member of the Nevada Assembly. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6,2014,following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer. Same-sex marriages subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Fourth Circuit issued its mandate,and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages. Previously,the state had passed a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in 1975,and further restrictions were added in 1997 and 2004,which made "void and unenforceable" any arrangements between same-sex couples bestowing the "privileges or obligations of marriage". Voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia reinforcing the existing laws in 2006. On January 14,2014,a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional bans on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional,a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28,2014.
Adam Paul Laxalt is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,he was the party's unsuccessful nominee for governor of Nevada in 2018 and for the U.S. Senate in 2022.
The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada,known to most simply as The Center,is a nonprofit organization located in Las Vegas,Nevada,that has served the local lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender and queer community since 1993. The splendid building and the land on which it sits were accomplished following a very generous bequest by Las Vegas educator and businessman Robert L. Forbuss. The idea and scope of the project was suggested to Forbuss by his two closest friends,Las Vegas physicians Jerry L. Cade and Dennis M. Causey. In 2013,The Center moved into the new Robert L. Forbuss Building in Downtown Las Vegas and began also serving the low to moderate income residents of the area. Programs and services are generally free to the public. The Center is a member of Centerlink,the national membership organization for LGBT centers.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Nevada on November 3,2020. To vote by mail,registered Nevada voters must ensure each ballot is postmarked by November 3 and received by November 10,2020.
References
- ↑ "In split vote, Nevada Senate passes measure to begin repeal of gay marriage ban". Las Vegas Sun . April 22, 2013.
- ↑ "With Nevada, same-sex marriage legal in more than half the states; W.Va. next". CNN. Oct 9, 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ↑ "First gay couple weds in Las Vegas". POLITICO. Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ↑ "Kelvin Atkinson says he's evolved in his 16 years in Carson City". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2019-02-10. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ↑ "Nevada Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson resigns". Las Vegas Review-Journal. March 5, 2019.
- ↑ DeHaven, James. "Former state Sen. Atkinson pleads guilty, used $250K in campaign funds for SUV, night club". Reno Gazette Journal.
- ↑ "Atkinson to serve more than two years in prison and pay nearly a quarter million dollars in fines". The Nevada Independent. July 18, 2019.
