Oral history interviews with Gudrun Fonfa conducted by Dennis McBride on June 15, 2008 and June 22, 2008 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In these interviews, Fonfa discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981 and describes the lesbian community at the time. She talks about the founding of organizations to support the rights of the gay community. Fonfa discusses her contributions to Nevadans for Human Rights (NHR) and the development of the gay community. Lastly, Fonfa describes Women United of Nevada (WUN) and the organization's decision to change their mission statement.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christie Young conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interview, Young talks about her early life in Reno, Nevada and her experiences with race and sexuality during this time. She then describes attending University of Nevada, Reno in 1974, getting pregnant, having an abortion, and the social implications of abortions. Young recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979 to study anthropology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, learning about gay culture, and attending the Metropolitan Community Church. She then explains joining gay rights organizations as a straight woman, gay rights activism in the 1980s and 1990s, and stories of individuals within the Las Vegas gay community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hanford Searl conducted by Dennis McBride on November 02, 1996 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Searl discusses being gay and the struggles he faced in religion and university before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with David Parks conducted by Dennis McBride on February 16 and 21, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Parks talks about his early life in Boston, Massachusetts, his education, and his service with the United States Air Force, where he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. Parks then recalls understanding his sexuality during his military service and policies regarding gay military personnel. He remembers coming out as gay in 1972, when he attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and worked for the City of Las Vegas as a computer operator. He then talks about getting involved with politics, his involvement with gay support organizations including Aid for AIDS of Nevada, and his experiences running as the first openly gay Nevada State Assemblyman in 1996. Lastly, Parks discusses same sex rights legislation that was brought forward during his time in office.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Chris Phipps conducted by Dennis McBride on November 16, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Phipps talks about coming to terms being a gay man in California, being involved with the Apollo Spa and Health center, and becoming a lawyer.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Deborah Cameron conducted by Dennis McBride on August 17, 2006 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Cameron discusses the lesbian community in Las Vegas, Nevada, the organization Women of Nevada (WUN), and founding the organization, L Club. She describes other lesbian organizations and clubs that she was a member of and explains why gay clubs were important in forming supportive communities. Lastly, Cameron talks about the disbandment of the L Club.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Wes Davis conducted by Dennis McBride on July 13, 2008 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Davis discusses the AIDS epidemic in the United States in 1981 and the effect it had on the gay community. Davis then talks about Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) in 1984, Golden Rainbow in 1986, and the Nevada Aids Project in 1987, and describes their efforts to deal with the disease. Lastly, he describes the implementation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and explains why people were afraid to find out if they were positive for the disease.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kenny Kerr conducted by Dennis McBride on May 29, 2001 and May 30, 2001 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. Kerr discusses his childhood and the beginning of the female character, Kenny Kerr. Kerr also talks about the shows
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with David Green conducted by Dennis McBride on August 20 and October 22, 1999 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Green discusses his contributions to the founding and operation of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, also known as The Center. He recalls purchasing the first building used for The Center in 1993, anecdotes about other founding members, and details regarding the administrative management at The Center. Green also discusses his early life in New York, understanding his sexuality, and his family's reactions.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard Schlegel conducted by Dennis McBride on June 03, 2006 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Schlegel discusses his involvement with Equal Rights Nevada (ERN) and the petition to amend the Nevada Constitution that prevented same-sex marriages in the early 2000s. He talks about the approach that ERN took to campaign against the petition and the role that the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage had at the time. Schlegel then describes the Marriage Protection Pledge, his experiences managing a campaign supporting marriage rights for gay couples, and explains how the outcome of the petition affected the Las Vegas, Nevada gay community.
Archival Collection