Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

MEMO FROM CARSON CITY:

Activism 101: Gays show how it’s done

They and their allies are among the few inspired by the Obama campaign still involved in politics

Carson Memo

Nevada Appeal FILE

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, speaks with Lee Rowland, Northern Nevada coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union before a meeting of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee in March. Gay activists have enlisted the help of the ACLU and other groups to help further their political goals.

When 100,000 Nevada Democrats showed up for the presidential caucus last year, nearly everyone in Nevada’s small political class — except Sen. Harry Reid — was a little shocked.

Nevada, which often has one of the worst voter turnouts of any state, isn’t known as a place for political activism.

But the activism kept up after the caucus, as an army of volunteers for the campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama signed up hundreds of thousands of new voters and mobilized the state in a way never before seen.

There was some talk of a new era in Nevada politics, one dominated by these activists rather than just the usual suspects of consultants, lobbyists, party eccentrics and career pols.

In Carson City, though, there was considerable snickering about this speculation. “End of the day, there’s going to be — at most — 350 people involved in the process,” one lobbyist said.

And sure enough, there hasn’t been a groundswell of activism up north. Some new activity has occurred among Obama volunteers who awakened to politics, but not a whole lot.

On the issue of gay rights, though, the activists are well organized and mobilizing effectively.

The gay, lesbian and transgender community, as well as friends, family and allies, came together after California passed Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. In Nevada, hundreds of people rallied on Nov. 15.

At the rally, activists collected names and e-mail addresses from rallygoers.

Sound familiar? The Obama campaign did this at all those big rallies, and soon had amassed an e-mail list with millions of names.

Candice Nichols, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, helped form a grass-roots organization to lobby the Legislature.

They began reaching out to friendly lawmakers and plotting a strategy.

The bills with the best chance of passage would extend domestic partnership rights to gay couples and forbid discrimination in public accommodations.

They sent e-mails to everyone on their now-robust list, with an easy-to-use form, telling their membership to contact legislators.

“They just click those buttons and they can send it in,” Nichols said.

Today, 70 activists will be in Carson City to lobby.

“We wanted to be visible and let them know we are their constituents,” Nichols said. “And, that we vote, we have families, and we believe in equality.”

Some legislators say they’re getting more correspondence on gay rights issues than any other.

The group also recruited allied interest groups such as the Stonewall Democrats, the ACLU and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, known as PLAN. They in turn told their members to get involved.

Some of those groups helped pay for activists to go to Carson City.

Gary Peck of the ACLU said these groups have long been fighting for this type of legislation, but said many of the groups are now more committed to being well-organized.

Launce Rake, spokeman for PLAN, said, “We’re trying to be as strategic about lobbying people who can be persuaded. Both parties have gay and lesbian and transgendered people in their districts.”

Other groups, Republican and Democratic alike, take notice: This is how it’s done.

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