Census: Nevada near top in unwed category

Thursday, March 13, 2003 | 11:09 a.m.

Nevada may be the wedding capital of the world, but its residents don't necessarily feel a pull to the altar, Census Bureau numbers released today show.

The report ranks Nevada near the top nationwide in the percentages of unmarried and same-sex couples, as well as both married and unmarried mixed-race partners.

"With this report, we're getting a picture of ourselves, which helps us to understand situations people in the state might be going through," Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada state demographer, said.

The numbers could also lead to new laws, as they show that Nevada's population may be different from what is commonly assumed, observers said.

"It shows that the June, Ward, Wally and Beaver family model of 'Leave it to Beaver' is not as widespread as some people thought," said Liz Moore, board member of Equal Rights Nevada, a statewide nonprofit organization.

The report, based on Census 2000 numbers, shows that 53,902 couples -- or 12.6 percent of the 427,103 couples who answered the Census statewide -- were unmarried. This ranks Nevada second in the nation, behind only the District of Columbia, where 20.8 percent of the couples were unmarried.

Similarly, in a ranking of the top 10 cities and townships with populations of 100,000 or more that showed high percentages of unmarried couples, Nevada had two entries -- Sunrise Manor, with 7.6 percent, and Spring Valley, with 7.4 percent. Both are in the Las Vegas area.

Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas, introduced a bill in the 2001 Legislature that would have given rights to people who are in relationships but aren't directly related by blood or married. AB496 failed, and Parks said Wednesday that the Census report shows the need to address the issue anew.

"It's time for our state to catch up to the makeup of its people when it comes to its laws," he said.

Pastor John Michaels of the Calvary Chapel in Spring Valley said he sees the impact of these numbers in his day-to-day work.

"Though (unmarried couples) don't always make themselves known to me ... they do come to us for advice," he said.

The pastor said he explains to the couples that the church doesn't condone living out of wedlock, and that many of those couples decide to live separately until they are legally married.

At the same time, he said he thinks the numbers may even be higher than the census report indicates.

"We see a trend to make this acceptable in society, and it would seem that in Las Vegas it is even more acceptable," he said.

Rachelle Resnick, program manager for the Clark County Family Law Self-Help Center, also sees high numbers of unmarried couples in her work.

The center, which helped 103,000 people last year, focused mainly on divorce when it opened four years ago.

"But then we got so many requests from unmarried couples, especially regarding paternity, that we began supplying information on this as well," she said.

Resnick also said that Nevada state law does not recognize common law marriages, which means that unmarried couples have a limited range of rights, regardless of how long they have lived together.

Sixteen states recognize some kind of common law marriage, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Moore, who also works as Southern Nevada coordinator for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said that lawmakers should take into account the state's unmarried couples.

"This information should definitely be recognized in the way we make laws and policies that affect Nevada's families in the future," she said.

The number of same-sex couples is low nationwide. Nevada had nearly 5,000 couples in this category, or 1.2 percent of all couples. This ranked fourth nationwide, tied with three other states. The District of Columbia was the only state with more than 1.4 percent of its couples of the same sex, with 5.1 percent in this category.

Gary Peck, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union, Nevada chapter, said that ballot Question 2 -- which added language to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman -- has affected both unmarried and same-sex couples.

"This report underscores just how destructive Question 2 was because it shows that lots of people were denied the sorts of rights and protections they deserve," he said.

The census report also showed that 11 percent of the state's married couples were of mixed races, ranking it fifth in the nation. Nineteen percent of the state's unmarried couples were of mixed races.

Edwin Canizalez, coordinator for a state program that certifies courtroom interpreters in 11 languages, said Wednesday he is part of that 11 percent.

Canizalez, whose job requires that he travel between Las Vegas and Carson City, is a mix of Mayan Indian and Spanish. His wife is Chinese and Indonesian.

He says he sees more and more couples like his in both the north and south of the state.

"It makes you feel more comfortable, and not so much like you're strange," he said.

"It also makes for a more interesting place, culturally speaking."