Oral history interview with Mark Douglas conducted by Dennis McBride on May 16, 1999 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Douglas discusses his family and upbringing in the Mormon Church, his realization of his sexuality, first experiences with gay clubs and associations, and the conflict between his feelings and his faith. He continues talking about Church views of homosexuality in a modern and historical context and then details two organizations that offer support to LGBT members of the Mormon Church.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard Ham conducted by Dennis McBride on January 18, 2002 for the Las Vegas Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Ham discusses the assault of Nevada Supreme Court Justice Frank McNamee in 1965. Ham describes being accused by McNamee of being a communist, McNamee's sexuality, and how McNamee was able to succeed politically despite being a gay man. He continues, discussing the history of the trial following McNamee's assault, and also describes other aspects of Nevada's political history during that time. Ham concludes by discussing being gay and some of his sexual experiences with men.
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 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
Oral history interview with Rodney Sumpter conducted by Dennis McBride on August 30, 1999 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Sumpter discusses his involvement with repealing one of Nevada’s sodomy laws (NRS 201.190) in 1985. He recalls going to the Nevada State Supreme Court and discusses similar cases involving sodomy laws in the United States.
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 Kelly McFarlane-Smith conducted by Dennis McBride on October 07, 2008 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Smith discusses her involvement with the magazine
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alana Brown conducted by Dennis McBride on May 26, 2008 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Brown discusses establishing the Center Stage Inc. theater company in Las Vegas, Nevada with her partner, Lenore Simon. Brown describes the production of certain plays including
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dale Kimball conducted by Dennis McBride on May 16, 1999 and January 1, 2001 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Kimball discusses their personal impressions of and historical information about the people who donated to the Nevada Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, an organization which opposed same sex marriage. The interview consists entirely of Kimball reading through a list of donors to the Coalition and providing personal anecdotes on each individual.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lori Lipman Brown conducted by Dennis McBride on September 12, 2005 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Brown discusses Question 2 in the Nevada state elections of 2000 and 2002, which added an amendment to the Nevada constitution that banned same-sex marriage. Brown describes the process of introducing legislation that advocated for equal rights for the gay community and an incident where parties opposing her efforts hired a spy to observe her work. Lastly, Brown talks about the involvement of the Church of Latter-Day Saints and their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Archival Collection