Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Nevada lawmaker addresses LGBTQ rights, jabs Trump

Spearman

Carolyn Kaster / AP

State Sen. Pat Spearman waves after speaking to delegates during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Monday, July 25, 2016.

PHILADELPHIA — Nevada State Sen. Pat Spearman drew sharp contrasts between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton over the issue of LGBTQ rights in a passionate, fiery address at the Democratic National Convention Monday night.

Spearman, who is black, a veteran, a minister and gay, questioned how Trump could frame himself as LGBTQ-friendly and choose Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as a running mate. Pence signed a law that allowed businesses to turn away LGBTQ customers if they felt it conflicted with their faith.

“(Pence) used religion as a weapon to discriminate and the state lost millions of dollars as a result,” Spearman said. "As a lesbian, that hurts me. As a person of faith, that offends me. And as a legislator working hard to create jobs, that baffles me.”

She said that Trump and Pence would “strip away the progress we have fought so hard to win.”

She also shared how she was afraid of being discharged from the military if anyone found out about her sexual orientation. She praised the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” now that LGBTQ members of the military can serve “openly and proudly.”

When Spearman was elected to the state Legislature in 2012, she said she was only one of two openly gay legislators. Now, she is one of five. She also praised the expansion of marriage equality in recent years: When Nevada started recognizing same-sex marriages in 2014, it was one of 26; now it's nationwide.

In closing, she urged the Democrats to unify, modifying an old song: “Let’s walk together, Democrats, don’t get weary. Let’s run together, Democrats, don’t get weary. Let’s talk together, Democrats, don’t get weary. There’s a great camp meeting in the promised land of equality."

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy