We have finally reached the finish line in this week’s “Mother, May I” game for same-sex marriage in Nevada. Earlier this morning the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage dropped its appeal to keep the state’s ban of same-sex marriage on the books.
The past three whirlwind days have been two steps forward toward progress, one step back, then one step forward, one step back, before a final decisive step forward this morning. The emotional roller coaster began Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down same-sex marriage bans in five states. Tuesday afternoon, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals followed suit, striking down Nevada's ban.
“I was shocked, I was in tears,” said Antioco Carrillo, a plaintiff in the Sevcik v. Sandoval case challenging the ban, describing the moment when he heard the news. “The first thing I did was to contact my partner, Theo [Small], to tell him that we were on the right path. The first thing I said was, ‘Can you marry me now?’”
That wedding nearly happened this week, as word came from the Clark County Clerk’s office that marriage licenses would be issued to same-sex couples starting Wednesday at 2 p.m. A celebratory rally was quickly put together at the nonprofit Gay and Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada, where hundreds gathered Tuesday night to hear comments from prominent LGBT political officials invested in the issue. State senator Kelvin Atkinson even proposed to his partner onstage, eliciting a roar of cheers and thunderous applause from those in attendance.
But the heartstrings of those hoping to say “I do” were yanked again early Wednesday morning, when news broke that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy had issued a stay on the same-sex marriage ruling in Nevada and Idaho, a reaction to an appeal filed by the governor and state of Idaho.
Justice Kennedy modified his stay later that day, lifting it in Nevada and effectively allowing same-sex marriages to move forward. That is, until motions in the courts began and a petition from the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage was filed to maintain the stay on same-sex marriages in the Silver State. Many same-sex couples were lined up for hours at the Marriage License Bureau that afternoon, hoping to tie the knot as soon as they could, until they were told their licenses were being denied. Some left in tears.
But now, with the withdrawal of that petition, same-sex couples hoping to marry in Nevada can finally rest easy. While the date and time when the Marriage License Bureau will begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples has not yet been released, it will begin after the Federal District Court issues an injunction on the state’s amendment banning gay marriage. The Las Vegas Sun reports that could be as early as today.
“We have invested so many years of our lives in this state,” said Carrillo. “We wanted to make sure that if we get married—when we got married—that we would do it in the state that we love. The state of Nevada.”
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
