Advertisement

Same-sex weddings begin in Nevada

"Now if gay people want to be married like Elvis, they can do it," an openly gay Nevada lawmaker said, welcoming the state's first same-sex weddings.

By Frances Burns
Nevada, a state long famous for quickie divorces and quickie marriages, has now held its first legal same-sex weddings. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
Nevada, a state long famous for quickie divorces and quickie marriages, has now held its first legal same-sex weddings. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Nevada, a state long famous for quickie divorces and quickie marriages, has now held its first legal same-sex weddings.

In fact, Las Vegas wedding chapels and casino hotels are hoping for an increase in business. Advocates for same-sex marriage pushed the economic benefits.

Advertisement

"It's going to be tremendous boost," Andrew Martin, an openly gay state assemblyman, told the Guardian. "I've been in contact with the wedding chapels and everybody. They're excited. Now if gay people want to be married like Elvis, they can do it."

State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, a Democrat from North Las Vegas, and his partner, Sherwood Howard, tied the knot Thursday on the steps of the Clark County courthouse. The ceremony, about an hour after County Clerk Diana Alba was told late Thursday afternoon she could start issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples, was believed to be the first in the state.

Diane Hawley and Carol Przybycien, who also got a license Thursday, planned to hold their ceremony in a nearby wedding chapel.

"We never really expected this in our lifetime," Hawley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "As every state gets added into the mix, my conviction gets stronger that this is a sure thing, that it's here to stay."

Advertisement

The beginning of gay marriage in Nevada followed two days of sometimes confusing legal rulings. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that bans on same-sex marriage in Nevada and Idaho were unconstitutional. A day later, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy stayed the decision but did not make it clear in his initial ruling that it applied only to Idaho because Nevada had not sought a stay.

But anxious couples and people in the wedding industry had to wait because a state injunction was still in effect.

George Flint, who has operated the Chapel of Bells in Reno, told the Guardian the industry has been hurt by the recession and by shifting attitudes towards marriage. The number of marriage licenses issued in Reno has dropped from 38,000 a year in the early 1960s to 8,000 a year.

"Our business is suffering, to a great degree, because people are changing their marriage patterns," Flint said. "I marry couples almost every day who have lived together almost 20, 30, 40 years and haven't bothered to marry. Now that they're getting older they realize it's important to do for pension and social security reasons – the things you face looking at your own mortality."

Advertisement

Latest Headlines