Nevada does legwork to protect its LGBTQ+ residents through laws

Editor’s note: As he traditionally does around this time every year, Brian Greenspun is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. Today’s guest is André C. Wade, state director of Silver State Equality.

Nevada continues to be ahead of the curve when it comes to many issues facing the LGBTQ+ population locally and across the nation, making the Silver State a great place to live, especially for LGBTQ+ Nevadans. While Floridians are discussing the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that so negatively affects students, Nevada passed an inclusive curriculum bill to ensure students will one day learn about key figures in American history — Americans who also happen to be LGBTQ+.

Nationally, the Respect for Marriage Act is being considered in Congress on the heels of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ intimation that marriage equality may no longer be the law of the land. Fortunately, Nevada passed a ballot initiative in 2020, Question 2, that removed discriminatory language from Nevada’s Constitution that stated marriage was only between one man and one woman. Nevada became the first and only state in the nation to do so.

Students and education

While there are many students in our school systems who are openly LGBTQ+, there are many who are not due to fear of rejection by family, peers and their surrounding community. And there are students in our school systems who consider themselves allies to their LGBTQ+ peers.

All these students want is to go to school and be their true selves. They don’t want to be rejected or ostracized for who they are. They want to focus on their education, their friendships and creating a positive school experience.

Historically, students have not had the chance to learn about history-making Americans who happen to identify as LGBTQ+, which begs the question of ‘why’? Students who are LGBTQ+ are yearning to see themselves reflected in the books they read during social studies, history and civics classes. It’s important for students’ personal and educational development and self-esteem to learn about people who reflect them.

Read any textbook and you won’t see any mention of the likes of Bayard Rustin, who helped organize The March on Washington. You may not read about the author and political and social thinker, James Baldwin. And you definitely won’t read about Pauli Murray who was instrumental in presenting legal arguments for Justices Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg — arguments that helped to change the trajectory of racial and gender equality in America.

There are dozens of other leaders, inventors, artists, and more who have been erased from history, leaving people to believe that LGBTQ+ people have not always existed and contributed to the fabric of our country. These exclusions leave students to believe they are alone, deepening the anxiety they experience relative to their own personal battles with identity, and it can lead some to believe that no one like them has ever made a positive impact in America.

To change this, at least six states have passed laws that require inclusive curriculums to be taught in school. Nevada is one of those states. The Nevada Legislature passed a bill, AB 261 (2021), requiring the contributions of LGBTQ+ people, as well as minority racial groups, including Native and Indigenous people, and those who are differently abled, to be taught in school.

Now, students will be exposed to a great number of American history makers and contributors from many different backgrounds, thereby presenting a more complete history of the United States.

Marriage

In 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that same-gender couples have a constitutional right to marry like any other American. In 2020, Nevada became the first and still the only state in the nation, to have removed discriminatory language on marriage from its constitution.

Unfortunately, this year, Justice Thomas invoked fear in LGBTQ+ Americans by stating in a concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade, that marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges) was up for debate as a constitutional right.

In reaction to the threat, Congress introduced the Respect for Marriage Act. Contrary to popular belief, if the Supreme Court was egregious in its actions and overturned Obergefell v. Hodges, the Respect for Marriage Act would not prevent states from refusing to marry same-gender couples.

What it would do, if passed, is ensure that the federal recognition of marriage, which has to do with provisions such as Social Security survivor benefits, would continue to be intact. This is in place because of United States v. Windsor, a case that struck down portions of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 relative to federal recognition.

The Respect for Marriage Act passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 267-157, which included 47 Republicans, thereby making it the biggest pro-equality vote in congressional history, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. This extra layer of protection is important and unfortunately necessary.

However, in Nevada we have our own layer of protection despite what happens with the Supreme Court in the future, because more than 60 percent of Nevadans voted to remove discriminatory language from Nevada’s Constitution on marriage, ensuring that in Nevada, same gender couples have a state constitutional right to marry just like any other Nevadan.

All of this underscores the fact that LGBTQ+ Americans are in need of equal protections under the law — not special rights. Just the same rights that are enjoyed by all Nevadans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I am grateful to live in a state like Nevada where lawmakers, advocates and residents have enacted laws protecting LGTBQ+residents from undue and unjust harm.