Abstract
The Equal Rights Nevada (2000-2002) collection is comprised of organizational records documenting the group’s unsuccessful fight against Question 2, a referendum voted upon in 2000 and 2002 to amend Nevada’s state constitution to forbid same-sex marriage. It includes campaign files, financial records, publicity, correspondence, ephemera, and other supporting documentation from national and regional marriage equality organizations.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Equal Rights Nevada collection (2000-2002) is comprised of organizational records documenting the group’s unsuccessful fight against Question 2, a referendum voted upon in 2000 and 2002 to amend Nevada’s state constitution to forbid same-sex marriage. Materials include campaign files, financial records, publicity, correspondence, ephemera, and other supporting documentation from national and regional marriage equality organizations.
- 1993
- Repeal of Nevada’s sodomy law
- 1994
- Repudiation of the Minority Status and Child Protection Act in Nevada
- 1996
- Congress passes the Defense of Marriage Act
- 1998
- Las Vegas declares February 12th National Freedom to Marry Day
- National Coalition for the Protection of Marriage founded
- 1999
- Passage of employment non-discrimination legislation which included sexual orientation in Nevada
- National Coalition for the Protection of Marriage announced its referendum in Nevada (to be known as Question 2)
- 2000
- Campaign for Unity founded in Northern Nevada
- Campaign for Unity became Equal Rights Nevada
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Material is arranged by subject.
Biographical / Historical Note
Equal Rights Nevada, an organization founded in 2000 by the Nevada gay community, fought the Question 2 referendum voted upon in 2000 and 2002 to amend the Nevada state constitution to forbid same-sex marriage. In spring of 2000 Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), founded the Campaign for Unity in Northern Nevada to fight the anti-same-sex marriage initiative. In July 2000 the Campaign for Unity became Equal Rights Nevada (ERN), however, Question 2 passed in 2000, and again in 2002, becoming a Nevada constitutional amendment.
The Nevada gay community enjoyed a string of political victories in the 1990s: repeal of the state’s sodomy law in 1993, repudiation of the Minority Status and Child Protection Act in 1994, and the 1999 passage of employment non-discrimination legislation which included sexual orientation. In 1996, the same year Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Christina Sealander and Royce Kohler established the Equal Right to Marry Project in Las Vegas through the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. Even more unprecedented was the support shown by Las Vegas mayor Jan Laverty Jones who issued a proclamation declaring Thursday, February 12, 1998 to be National Freedom to Marry Day in Las Vegas. Equal marriage rights became the Nevada gay community’s next political fight.
Preferred Citation
Equal Rights Nevada Collection, 2000-2002. MS-00607. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Permalink
Acquisition Note
Material donated by Dennis McBride in 2006; accession number 2006-014.
Processing Note
Material was processed by Dennis McBride in 2006. In 2014, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Hannah Robinson revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.
Subjects
Administrative Information
Resource Type
Collection Type
EAD ID
Appraisal Note
The collection contained a number of envelopes that were returned as undeliverable to the organization and these were subsequently discarded by SKC in summer 2006.