On the day the Nevada Senate approved same-sex marriage, Sen. Kevin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, addressed the assembly with four words: “I’m black; I’m gay,” according to The Las Vegas Sun.
"I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male,” he said.
The Nevada Senate voted 12-9 to repeal the state’s gay marriage ban. The 12 votes were in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 13, a proposal that would tear down the ban on gay marriage and require the state to legalize gay marriage.
The vote came after a long debate in which those against gay marriage said they were not “insensitive and unenlightened” but struggled with their religious values and views on public policy.
Supporters of same-sex marriage argued that the right to marry should be extended to all human beings. Atkinson added that legalizing gay marriage should not have any effect on what defines marriage.
"If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place," he said.
Democratic Sen. Justin Jones is a Mormon and sees his gay brother-in-law at church every Sunday. He felt he had no choice but to vote in favor of SJR13.
"I would rather lose an election than look my brother-in-law in the eye every Sunday and tell him he doesn't have the same rights as I do," Jones said.
Republican Sen. Joe Hardy is also a Mormon and said “marriage is ordained of God.” He went on to say that the relationships “perpetuate beyond the grave.”
"I do not believe this measure will strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society," he said.
Stuart Gaffney, from Marriage Equality USA, praised efforts like the one made by the Nevada Senators.
“What we see all across the country is that peoples’ opinions are changing very rapidly on marriage equality, actually faster than almost any other social issue of our time, and the reason is because people are getting to know their lesbian and gay friends, colleagues and neighbors – or in this case fellow members of the legislature – and realizing that the freedom to marry means the world to them but doesn't actually take away from anybody else,” Gaffney said according to ABC News.
If SJR13 were to pass, state Legislature would have to approve it once more in 2015. It would then be put on the 2016 ballot.
