Gay rights advocates in Las Vegas ‘optimistic’ after arguments in gay marriage case

By Ana Ley

Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 | 10 p.m.

Sporting rainbow tie-dye shirts, Paul Juhala and Larry Dominguez were all smiles Monday afternoon as they contemplated the three-hour hearing they'd just watched live from a federal courtroom more than 500 miles away.

For the couple, the legalese boiled down to one simple conclusion: One day soon, they might be able to marry in Nevada.

"It's legal in California — why not Nevada?" Juhala said as he hugged Dominguez, his pint-sized partner of seven years. "We're optimistic."

Juhala and Dominguez were among two dozen others who gathered at the downtown Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada on Monday to watch a live stream of oral arguments over same-sex weddings before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which also reviewed similar cases in Idaho and Hawaii that afternoon.

Eight same-sex couples who want to get married in Nevada are leading the challenge to the state's 2002 voter-approved ban on gay weddings. A federal judge ruled against the group in 2012, which led to the 9th Circuit Court challenge.

"I'm feeling really positive and optimistic about (Monday's proceedings)," said Greg Flamer, who watched the hearing at the center. Flamer and his partner, Fletcher Whitwell, are among the plaintiffs challenging the ban. "The argument that the defense is presenting is so far-fetched."

Monday's attendees, mainly same-sex couples and civil rights advocates, said they anticipate the three-judge panel will ultimately decide to lift the ban.

"This is about equality for all Nevadans," said attorney James Davis, a local family law attorney who helped organize the viewing party. "It's not just about gay rights."

Tod Story, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada, voiced support for the plaintiffs and called for Nevada to "live up to our moniker as the marriage capital of the world."

The group laughed and cheered as the judges questioned arguments from defense attorney Monte Stewart, who said states had the right to make choices about gay marriage.

Stewart, who spoke on behalf of both Idaho and Nevada's bans, told the panel that same-sex marriage would undermine children's rights to be raised by a mother and father.

"When (children) are born, will they know and be raised by the two people who brought them into this world and whose family and biological heritage are a key part of their very meaning?" Stewart asked the judges.

Attorney Tara Borelli, speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the ban implies that same-sex couples and their families are inferior.

When Stewart replied that this was not his message, Judge Marsha Berzon fired back:

"That's the whole point of your rhetoric," Berzon said, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd gathered in Las Vegas. "You're sending a message that these are less desirable parents."

​State bans on same-sex marriages have been voided across the country since last summer, when the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to recognize state-approved gay marriages.

Gay couples today can marry in 19 states — including California — and the District of Columbia.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto have said they won't defend the ban when it goes before the federal appeals court.

​The panel of three judges overseeing Nevada's case — all appointed Democrats and one of whom wrote the opinion that overturned California's gay marriage ban in 2012 — spent about an hour reviewing arguments in that case.

The 9th Circuit panel is under no deadline to rule.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.