Las Vegas NowNevada Assembly endorses domestic partner bill
Associated Press - May 15, 2009 6:25 PM ET
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The Nevada Assembly voted 26-14 Friday to approve a bill that gives domestic partners, whether gay or straight, many of the rights and benefits that Nevada offers to married couples.
The vote, backed by most Democrats and opposed by most Republicans in the Assembly, sends SB283 back to the Senate, where it already was endorsed, for a review of Assembly amendments. Gov. Jim Gibbons has threatened to veto the plan.
Proponents of the measure included Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, who said it's in line with "the great tradition of Nevada libertarianism" and "Nevadans don't want government interfering with our personal lives."
Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, opposed the bill, saying domestic partners can sign private contracts to accomplish many of the goals of SB283. He also argued the bill conflicts with the intent of Nevadans who voted in 2002 for a constitutional amendment supporting marriage between a man and a woman.
The Assembly also voted 37-3 to give final legislative approval to SB207, which bars discrimination in Nevada based on sexual orientation.
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