Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Nevada are protected by anti-discrimination laws. Since October 8, 2014, same-sex marriage has been legal due to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Sevcik v. Sandoval. Since 2009, they have had access to domestic partnership status that provides many of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage, though they lacked the same rights to medical coverage as their married counterparts and their parental rights are not as well defined.
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Legality of same-sex sexual activity
Nevada decriminalized sodomy in 1993, ten years before the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas struck down laws that criminalized private consensual sexual activity. Senator Lori Lipman Brown introduced Senate Bill 466 on May 13, 1993, to decriminalize what the statutes called "infamous crime against nature". At hearings, two doctors linked repealing the sodomy laws with a public health measure to combat the stigma and spread of HIV. Other supporters included Reno, Nevada Rabbi Myra Soifer, former Senators Helen Foley and Jean Ford, gay rights advocate Lee Plotkin, and progressive activist Bob Fulkerson. Opponents included Janine Hansen of the Nevada Eagle Forum and Independent American Party of Nevada and Lynn Chapman who said that repealing the sodomy laws would increase the spread of HIV/AIDS and would "open the floodgate ... in legalizing, condoning and recognizing homosexuality to be on an equal footing with heterosexuality" and lead to "such things as homosexual marriage and adoption of children." In the course of the legislative process, the words "infamous crime against nature" were replaced by "anal intercourse, cunnilingus or fellatio in public". Other amendments, including one to require sex education in schools to provide "factual information regarding the dangers of such activities" of "a homosexual lifestyle or the infamous crime against nature", were defeated. Democratic Governor Bob Miller signed the legislation on June 16, 1993 and it went into effect on 1 October, 1993. But the age of consent for same-sex sexual activity was unequal and set 2 years higher at 18. However, the age of consent was finally made equal at 16 in line with heterosexuals, 20 years later on 1 October 2013, when the Nevada Legislature passed and the Governor of Nevada signed into law SB388.
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Recognition of same-sex relationships
Nevada voters approved Question 2, an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada that banned same-sex marriage, by 69.6% in 2000 and 67.1% in 2002.
On May 21, 2009, the state Legislature passed the Domestic Partnership Responsibilities Act 2009 to grant both opposite-sex and same-sex couples many of the responsibilities, obligations, rights, entitlements and benefits of marriage under the designation "domestic partnership" rather than "marriage". Governor Jim Gibbons vetoed the legislation, saying he did not personally oppose rights for domestic partners but felt he needed to respect the voters' wishes on the question. On May 30 and 31, both the Assembly and Senate overrode his veto. The law went into effect on October 1, 2009. It exempted both private and public employers from having to provide medical coverage for the domestic partners of their employees even if they did so for their employees' married spouses. Whether other jurisdictions will recognize a Nevada domestic partnership is uncertain, as are some parental rights normally held by married couples. Even within Arizona, the status of domestic partner can be misunderstood and is not always recognized as the equivalent of marriage.
On April 10, 2012, Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit, Sevcik v. Sandoval, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on behalf of eight same-sex couples, claiming that Nevada's categorization of same-sex domestic partnerships consigns same-sex couples to "a lesser, second-class status" and constitutes a violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. Chief Judge Robert Jones ruled on November 29 that Nevada's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples does not violate the Equal Protection Clause. Lambda Legal said it would appeal the decision. On October 7, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Question 2, explicitly reversing Judge Robert Jones' district court ruling thus, making same-sex marriages legal.
Since July 1, 2017, Nevada's marriage statute incorporates gender-neutral language, thereby explicitly recognizing same-sex marriage in state law.
Efforts to amend the state Constitution to remove the language banning same-sex marriage are currently ongoing.
Discrimination protections and anti-bullying laws
During the 1999 Legislative Session, the Legislature added prohibition of discrimination based on a person's actual or perceived sexual orientation in public and private employment and public accommodations to state law. In the 2011 Legislative Session, Governor of Nevada Brian Sandoval approved and signed into law three bills, A.B. 211, S.B. 331, and S.B. 368 which prohibit discrimination in areas of employment, housing and public accommodation on the basis of "gender identity or expression." S.B. 331 also prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at public accommodations, and S.B. 368 also prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. All three laws took effect on October 1, 2011.
In May 2015, an anti-bullying bill, SB 504, passed the Nevada Legislature. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed the bill into law days later. The bill went into full effect on July 1, 2015.
In May 2017, the Nevada Legislature passed and Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law SB188. This law added "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" throughout the rest of Nevada statutes, alongside race, disability, creed, sex, religion, marital status, domestic partnership status, age, etc. The law went into effect on July 1, 2017.
Hate crime laws
Nevada law provides additional penalties for the commission of crime because of certain actual or perceived characteristics of victim. In 2001, Nevada amended its hate crime laws to include sexual orientation, without addressing gender identity or expression. In 2011, Senator David Parks introduced S.B. 180 to add "gender identity or expression" to Nevada's hate crime laws. One Democrat, John Lee, voted with the Republicans and the bill failed. In 2013, S.B. 139, which would add "gender identity or expression" to Nevada's hate crime law, was introduced by a bipartisan group and passed the Senate on a vote of 20-1. Senator Hardy, the only vote against the legislation, later said that he should have voted in favor of S.B. 139 after talking with Senator Pat Spearman, the Legislature's first out person of color, a pastor and military veteran. The legislation passed the Assembly on a vote of 30-11 on May 14. Governor Brian Sandoval signed the legislation on May 21, 2013. The new law took effect on October 1, 2013.
Adoption and parenting
Same-sex relationships have not been a legal barrier to adoption or parenting in the state, though only since 2017 has state law reflected that same-sex couples have the same parental rights as heterosexual couples.
Federal income tax
The Internal Revenue Service ruled in 2013, based on the Supreme Court DOMA ruling, that same-sex individuals who have been married in any state where same-sex marriage is legal may file their federal returns as married filing jointly regardless of state of residency.
Conversion therapy
In 2017, SB 201 was introduced and passed committee by a vote of 4-1 and a floor vote of 15-5 in the Nevada Senate to ban conversion therapy on minors. The bill was voted on by a Nevada House of Representatives committee 9-2 and a floor vote of 31-8 on May 9. The Nevada Senate concurred to the amended version on the same day. The bill was signed by Governor Brian Sandoval (R) on May 17. The law commenced on January 1, 2018.
Gender identity and expression
Sex reassignment surgery is not required to change gender on birth certificate. In May 2017, SB110 passed the Nevada Legislature by (unanimous consent in both houses and a Governor's signature) to abolish and repeal the 1988 requirement for transgender people to publish their names in newspapers, before they undergo legal changes of sex on government documents.
On June 22, 2017, Governor Sandoval vetoed a bill requiring all insurance companies within Nevada to cover all sexual reassignment surgery costs, among other things.
Public opinion
A July 2011 Public Policy Polling survey found that a plurality of voters in the state support same-sex marriage. 45% of Nevada voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 44% thought it should be illegal and 11% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 77% of Nevada voters supported the legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 39% supporting same-sex marriage, 38% supporting civil unions but not marriage, 22% favoring no legal recognition and 2% not sure.
An August 2012 Public Policy Polling survey found that a plurality of voters in the state support same-sex marriage. 47% of Nevada voters thought that same-sex marriage should be legal, while 42% thought it should be illegal and 11% were not sure. A separate question on the same survey found that 80% of Nevada voters supported the legal recognition of same-sex couples, with 40% supporting same-sex marriage, 40% supporting civil unions but not marriage, 17% favoring no legal recognition and 2% not sure.
A February 2013 poll found majority support for same-sex marriage among Nevada voters. The Retail Association of Nevada poll found that 54% were in favor of it, 43% were opposed, and 3% had no opinion on the matter.
A September 2013 Retail Association of Nevada poll found that 57% of Nevada voters favored same-sex marriage, while 36% were opposed. 6% were unsure.
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