Reno wedding chapel considers same-sex unions

Sunday, Nov. 24, 2002 | 10:52 a.m.

RENO, Nev. AP) - Despite Nevada's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages, at least one Reno wedding chapel may begin to perform "commitment ceremonies" similar to those offered in Las Vegas.

George Flint, owner of the Chapel of the Bells, said he has never offered the same-sex unions, but thinks he will do so soon. He expects other Reno chapels to follow suit to help reverse a marriage decline in northern Nevada.

"We are turning away like three (same (sex)- couples a month that want a commitment," Flint told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "If I can do those same-sex commitments, it's going to help fill up spaces."

Nevada voters' overwhelming support of a constitutional ban on gay marriage earlier this month hasn't stopped the symbolic ceremonies from taking place every day at Las Vegas wedding chapels.

The unions hold no legal weight, but same-sex couples have increasingly embraced them as a way to show their commitment.

Flint said weddings are just as important to Reno's economy as gambling, but most couples now go to Las Vegas instead of Reno to tie the knot.

He said about 50,000 marriages would take place this year in Reno and Carson City, down from an estimated 70,000 weddings in 1978.

"I'm used to doing 80 weddings a month. Now I'm doing about 50," Flint said. "When you lose a wedding, you're not losing two people, you're losing 12 tourists."

Flint said he may require all same-sex couples to sign a waiver or consent form stating that they understand the ceremony is not a legal marriage or recognized by the state of Nevada.

"I don't have a problem with same-sex couples who are very fond of each other," he said. "They should be given the opportunity to have a commitment ceremony."

The civil commitment ceremonies do not bother gay marriage foes, said Richard Ziser, chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage. His group spearheaded the campaign on behalf of Question 2, the anti-gay marriage measure approved by Nevada voters.

"We really don't pay much attention to it at all," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "If they want to have commitment services, that's fine by us. As long as the law does not recognize them."

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal