Oral history interview with Sarah Serna conducted by Dennis McBride on December 04, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. Serna opens her interview by discussing her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1993, and her first assignment as a Methodist minister to a small congregation in North Las Vegas. Serna then explains how she became involved in LGBT social justice issues after witnessing expressions of homophobia and prejudice within her church. She discusses her involvement with the Las Vegas LGBT community and the development of a pastoral care outreach program, the development of the World AIDS Day prayer vigil, and the foundation of the Community Counseling Center, later renamed Lighthouse Ministry. Serna then talks about her decision to transition from the Methodist Church to the Episcopalian Church and becoming the first Episcopalian priest in Las Vegas to bless same-sex marriages. She also discusses the development of a transitional housing program, changes in the LGBT community in Las Vegas, and many individuals involved in LGBT social justice programs in Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with David Parks conducted by Dennis McBride on January 31, 2007 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Parks, a member of the Nevada senate, discusses working on a Nevada anti-bullying bill and a family fairness bill, which stated that any two persons could have another person as a recipient beneficiary. Park describes dealing with opposition to the family fairness bill with some people arguing that it changes the traditional definition of family. Parks recalls running against a man with a similar name, David F. Parks, in a 2002 legislative assembly election.
Archival Collection
The Rick L. May Papers document social and political activities of Las Vegas, Nevada's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from 1982 to 1997. The papers include records from the Gay Academic Union of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; various gay pride celebrations in Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas; the Metropolitan Community Church's outreach to the LGBT community; as well as Rick L. May's own notes and collections about LGBT-supportive stores like R and R Assordid Sundries. The collection also includes several t-shirts that commemorate the pride celebrations. The papers demonstrate how the pride celebrations that began in 1984 were the result of efforts from several sectors of Las Vegas' LGBT community.
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From the Las Vegas Bugle Photograph Collection on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History (PH-00336). L-R: Dr. Lisa Bechtel; Susan Carratelli; Holly [Lee]Carratelli. (1994).
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