Goodman listens to concerns of gay citizens

Kris Hill

Friday, Jan. 26, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

Members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community told Mayor Oscar Goodman on Thursday that they no longer wanted to be a large but invisible part of Las Vegas.

Robert Schlagel, editor of the Las Vegas Bugle, a paper serving gay and lesbian readers, complained about the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority policy that prohibits anyone there from directing tourists to businesses that cater to gay patrons.

Goodman declined Thursday to take any definitive stands on the issues brought forward but said he learned a lot and would cautiously seek solutions.

Schlagel also told Goodman that he is concerned that gay city employees do not receive the same health care benefits for themselves and their partners as their straight counterparts do.

Liz Moore, president of Equal Rights Nevada, a group that promotes gay rights, pointed out that inheritance and property rights, even the right to visit one's partner in the hospital, are key issues for the gay and lesbian community.

Another major concern is the safety of gay students at local public schools.

"Most of our gay students feel like they have to live in the closet," Lori Lipman Brown, a teacher at Eldorado High School, said.

"It really just burns," Angelo Bomasuto, a student at Eldorado, said in reference to insults hurled at gay students by their fellow classmates.

"School is a place for learning and not a place for hate and violence," Holly Welborn, also an Eldorado student, said.

The teens asked for support of a bill to be heard by the 2001 Legislature that would establish sanctions against students who verbally or physically harass gay students.