Tag: Nevada

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Nevada gets Ninth Circuit Appeals Court date for marriage equality

Mark your calendars – September 8th is the date that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear 20 minutes of oral arguments in the case of Beverly Sevcik v. Brian Sandoval.

Eight couples sued the state of Nevada over it’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2012. That judge upheld the law sending the case to appeals.

What has changed since 2012, you might ask? In February of this year, the Nevada Attorney General dropped opposition to the lawsuit saying due to recent rulings the law was “indefensible.” With the state’s governor and AG stepping aside from a case they say is unwinnable, only the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage is left to argue it alone.

Currently, same-sex couples can marry in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

(source)

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Nevada: Openly transgender candidate wins GOP primary for state Assembly

Openly transgender candidate Lauren Scott won the Republican primary election for Nevada Assembly District 30 last night, beating out Adam Khan, who have been endorsed by the Nevada Republican Assembly (NVRA).

Scott has been endorsed by Governor Brian Sandoval.

Nevada Assembly District 30 has a slight Democrat voter advantage but a moderate GOP candidate has an opportunity to win the general election in a year with low voter turnout.

(via press release)

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Nevada Democrats vote for “None of the above” for governor

Nevada Democrats picked “None of the above” as their top choice for Democratic candidate for governor yesterday.

Since the 1970s, due to the Watergate scandal, Nevada instituted the “None of the above” option as a nod to the apathy many felt about politicians. It still stands today.

Yesterday’s vote showed 30% of Democrats who voted chose “None of the above.” The second highest vote tally was for former state economic development director Robert Goodman. He will face off against Republican Governor Brian Sandoval.

Goodman will be the nominee because state law reads, “Only votes cast for the named candidates shall be counted in determining nomination or election to any statewide office or presidential nominations or the selection of presidential electors.”

Sandoval has one of the highest approval ratings in the country for a sitting governor and has long been expected to coast to reelection.

(source)

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Miss Nevada wins Miss USA 2014

E! Online has the details:

Fourth-degree black belt and all-around stunner Nia Sanchez was crowned Miss USA 2014, the biggest battle of the now former Miss Nevada’s life being the struggle to hold back all the tears after her name was called at the end of the three-hour beauty-and-personality-fest, hosted this year by Giuliana Rancic and Thomas Roberts.

She had clasped hands and traded well wishes with first runner-up Miss North Dakota, Audra Mari, as they waited out those final seconds–but it was Sanchez who stood alone with the bouquet, the sash and—of course—the tiara.

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Nevada get same-sex marriage ban challenge date in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nevada, my current home state, has finally gotten a date for arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court regarding a challenge of the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

From Equality On Trial:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Sevcik v. Sandoval, Lambda Legal’s challenge to Nevada’s same-sex marriage ban, to be placed on their argument calendar.

The case will be argued some time in September, though the order doesn’t specify an exact date.

Last night, the plaintiffs filed a request with the appeals court to schedule their case no later than a separate challenge to Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban.

The Nevada case has been on appeal in the Ninth Circuit since December 2012, while the Idaho appeal was only docketed a couple of weeks ago.

The original case was decided against the plaintiffs on September 26, 2012. Although briefs were filed months ago, the appeal has been put on hold while the court looked to other cases.

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Nevada state Republicans remove opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion from party platform

Yesterday in Las Vegas, the Nevada Republican party droppped platforms opposing abortions and gay marriage, while endorsing Gov. Sandoval for second term.

Via the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Amid raucous debate, Nevada Republican Party conventioneers on Saturday stripped opposition to gay marriage and abortion from the party platform and endorsed Gov. Brian Sandoval for governor in the June 10 primary despite misgivings by conservatives, his criticism of the process and his absence from the meeting.

By a show of hands, convention-goers adopted the platform as proposed by a separate committee without the two planks on marriage and abortion, following the Clark County GOP’s lead in removing hot-button social issues from the party’s statement of its principles.

Some 520 delegates attended the convention, but less than half were present when the platform was adopted at about 7:30 p.m. Little debate preceded the vote, a far contrast to earlier in day.

State party Chairman Michael McDonald said it was a successful convention at the end of the day. “I think it was about inclusion, not exclusion,” McDonald said, referring to the platform. “This is where the party is going.”

Log Cabin Republicans react via press release:

“The state party has made it clear that they want a ‘bigger tent’ and has welcomed us into it,” said Ed Williams, President of Log Cabin Republicans of Nevada and a delegate at the convention. “Today’s historic vote positions the Log Cabin Republicans of Nevada and our allies to be even more effective in demonstrating that the Republican Party is the party of limited government, personal responsibility and individual liberty.”

Log Cabin Republicans National Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo added: “Once again, our local Log Cabin Republicans members have made a critical difference pushing the GOP toward the right side of history by going where others fear to tread — or cannot tread because of their party affiliation. The Republican Party is at a crossroads: in a year where the Massachusetts GOP rolled back the clock and added divisive social issues to its platform, the state Republican Party responsible for nominating Sharron Angle in 2010 seems to have finally learned to focus on the issues that truly matter to voters, which will lead to massive Republican wins at the ballot box this fall.”

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Ninth Circuit Court schedules April 9th for Nevada same-sex arguments

https://twitter.com/ScottKGraham/status/443105190720192512

Nevada’s court date is just one day before Utah will see it’s same-sex marriage appeal in the Tenth Circuit on April 10th.

From Lambda Legal:

Last month Nevada Gov. Sandoval and Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover withdrew their arguments in support of the marriage ban after the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in SmithKline Beecham v. Abbott Laboratories that discriminatory classifications based upon sexual orientation must receive heightened scrutiny and should be presumed unconstitutional.

The heightened scrutiny standard is much more difficult to meet and rendered the state of Nevada’s arguments in its original brief defending the marriage ban “no longer tenable in the Ninth Circuit,” as Nevada’s Attorney General conceded in a statement released last week.

The withdrawal of the two government defendants leaves only the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which the U.S. District Court had allowed to intervene, defending the marriage ban.

UPDATE: Lambda Legal advises the court date has been rescheduled due to high case load in the 9th Circuit. Looking at a May or June court date at this point.

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Nevada: Ninth Circuit Court grants Lambda Legal expedited hearing

After Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto’s withdrew the state’s brief in defense of banning marriage equality, Lambda Legal has requested and been granted an expedited hearing in the Ninth Circuit Court.

Via press release:

Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Tara Borelli said: “The fact that the government defendants no longer are defending Nevada’s exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage makes any delay in these loving and committed couples securing the relief they seek particularly intolerable. The wheels of justice are now on a much faster track.”

Gov. Sandoval’s request and the earlier decision by Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover to withdraw his brief were motivated by the Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in SmithKline Beecham v. Abbott Laboratories that discriminatory classifications based upon sexual orientation must receive heightened scrutiny and should be presumed unconstitutional.

The heightened scrutiny standard is much tougher to meet and rendered the state of Nevada’s arguments in its original brief defending the marriage ban “no longer tenable in the Ninth Circuit,” as Nevada’s Attorney General conceded in a statement released last week.

The withdrawal of the two government defendants leaves only the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which the U.S. District Court had allowed to intervene, defending the marriage ban.

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NOM president Brian Brown cries over Nevada’s decision to not defend anti-gay marriage law in court

Brian Brown, NOM president, crying as he watches his very reason for being (and earning a living) slip away.

Via press release :

“In the end, this is simply an act of cowardice, with these officials bending to the false narrative of ‘inevitability’ projected by the radicals determined to impose marriage redefinition nationwide.”

Today’s whine is due to the state of Nevada deciding, due to a recent ruling in the Ninth Circuit of Appeals, to not defend the state’s ban on marriage equality.

Forward, kids.  Forward.

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Nevada: Attorney General asks to withdraw state’s defense of marriage ban in Ninth Circuit Court

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is withdrawing her previously filed brief in defense of the state’s constitutional ban on marriage equality in a federal appeals court.

Gov. Brian Sandoval a statement saying he agreed, and that it’s clear the state’s arguments are no longer defensible in court.

From Buzzfeed:

In a statement, the attorney general explained the decision, saying that another recent decision of the court “sets a new standard of review for cases in the Ninth Circuit.”

In that case, involving jury selection, the 9th Circuit held that “heightened scrutiny” would be given to constitutional challenges to government classifications based on sexual orientation — a decision Cortez Masto determined, as had most legal commentators, would apply to the challenge to Nevada’s marriage amendment.

“After thoughtful review and analysis, the State has determined that its arguments grounded upon equal protection and due process are no longer sustainable,” Cortez Masto said in Monday’s statement.

Lambda Legal released this statement:

“In the wake of the Ninth Circuit ruling in SmithKline Beecham v. Abbott Laboratories, the Governor has recognized that the writing is on the wall, and that arguments seeking to perpetuate discrimination are becoming extremely difficult to justify. Denying marriage to same-sex couples serves no legitimate state interest and is intended solely to perpetuate discrimination. As the Governor himself recognized, the heightened scrutiny standard that the Ninth Circuit’s SmithKline ruling now requires be applied to discriminatory classifications based on sexual orientation renders arguments supporting the marriage ban no longer tenable, and the Governor frankly made the only call he could.”

In Sevcik v. Sandoval, Lambda Legal, joined by pro bono co-counsel from O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Snell & Wilmer LLP, represents eight same-sex couples challenging Nevada’s law banning marriage for same-sex couples. The lawsuit argues that barring same-sex couples from marriage violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. A U.S. District Court judge granted Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit in November 2012, and Lambda Legal appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit. The State submitted its brief supporting the marriage ban to the Ninth Circuit on the same day as the Court’s ruling in SmithKline.