Maybe It Truly Does Get Better?

Long Beach is the seventh most populous city in California. It's a city that's near & dear to us because it's adjacent to our original homeland "Behind the Orange Curtain". And pretty soon, Long Beach will have a new Mayor.

His name is Robert Garcia. He came to America with his parents from Peru when he was five. He's an adjunct professor at USC, and he's already been serving as Vice Mayor on the Long Beach City Council.

Robert Garcia will be Long Beach's youngest Mayor. He will be Long Beach's first Latin@ Mayor. Oh, and he will also be Long Beach's first openly gay Mayor.



Once upon a time, prominent and proud LGBTQ elected leaders were unimaginable. Now, they're all across the nation. And yes, that even includes Nevada. Assembly Member Andrew Martin (D-Enterprise) is running for Nevada State Controller. Assembly Member James Healey (D-Enterprise) is running for reelection. And State Senators David Parks (D-Paradise), Pat Spearman (D-North Las Vegas), and Kelvin Atkinson (D-North Las Vegas) will be returning to the Nevada Legislature (as they were all elected in 2012).

Once upon a time, the closet was the only acceptable place for LGBTQ Americans. Marriage equality was "radical". "The Gay Plague" was "just punishment". And pride parades were revolutionary acts.



Oh, how times have changed. Now, high school principals come out to their students. Out soccer, football, and basketball players are welcomed into the league. And Time Magazine is beginning to show our entire community the respect we deserve.

And of course, Long Beach will soon have an out Mayor. And Nevada will likely have several out legislators in Carson City next year. Maybe we'll even soon have our first out statewide elected official?

As we documented earlier this week, there are still more challenges ahead of us. We don't yet have full equality. We still have further to go.

But at least now, we're on our way. At least now, we know that it truly does get better. And that's something we can all celebrate with pride this month.

SJR 13 Introduced to Repeal Question 2 Marriage Ban

As of late, we've mainly been discussing how marriage equality may come to Nevada soon via a favorable result in the Sevcik v. Sandoval law suit now pending in the Ninth Circuit (Federal) Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Perhaps we won't even have to wait that long. Depending on how the US Supreme Court resolves Perry v. Hollingsworth (the California Prop 8 law suit), marriage equality may come to Nevada as soon as this summer.

Yet even as we await final verdicts on the Perry and Sevcik cases, some in Carson City are not. Rather, they're bringing forward SJR 13, a constitutional amendment to repeal the Question 2 marriage ban. This process will take a while, but it's another possible route to equality that's ready just in case "The Supremes" issue a Perry ruling that doesn't knock out the Question 2 marriage ban this year.

SJR13 was introduced Monday by Democratic Sen. Tick Segerblom of Las Vegas.

In 2000 and 2002. Nevada voters approved the “Protection of Marriage Act” defining marriage as between a man and woman. But some recent polls show sentiment in Nevada for same sex marriage has changed, with many voters supporting it.

The resolution introduced Monday would have to be approved by lawmakers this year and again in 2015 before going to voters in 2016 for ratification.

If the provision is repealed, lawmakers could then legalize same sex marriage through statute in 2017.

So SJR 13 must be passed by the Nevada Legislature this session, then again during the 78th session in 2015. Then if passed both times, voters will weigh in 2016. Then if voters pass it, #NVLeg can then pass marriage equality by simple statute in the 79th session in 2017. So this is a multi-step process that spans 3 #NVLeg session and 2 elections, 1 of which may very well have this on the ballot, but ultimately it leads to popular approval of marriage equality.

Tick Segerblom has been hinting at this since last May, and it's now finally here. Out LGBTQ Senators David Parks (D-Paradise) and Pat Spearman (D-North Las Vegas) are co-sponsoring SJR 13, along with allies (Senate Majority Leader) Mo Denis (D-North Las Vegas), Ruben Kihuen (D-Las Vegas), Joyce Woodhouse (D-Henderson), and Mark Manendo (D-Paradise). Meanwhile, Eliot Anderson (D-Paradise) is leading the charge for SJR 13 in the Assembly along with out LGBTQ Assembly Members James Healey (D-Enterprise) & Andrew Martin (D-Enterprise), as well as allies James Ohrenschall (D-Sunrise Manor), Paul Aizley (D-Paradise), Joe Hogan (D-Las Vegas), and Heidi Swank (D-Paradise).

Wait, do you notice something above? Interesting. All the SJR 13 sponsors have (D) next to their names. Where are the Republicans? They must be "coming out" soon... But I guess it will take some effort to make this bill bipartisan. After all, this is the perfect opportunity for #NVLeg Republicans to highlight their "moderation".

And SJR 13 provides a new opportunity for Nevada to undo the damage of Question 2. We know our economy stands to benefit from full civil marriage equality. And the LGBTQ families of Nevada have certainly been waiting some time for full legal equality. The time has come. It's now just a matter of how and when it arrives.