Same-sex marriage in Nevada has been legally recognized since October 9, 2014, when a

federal district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

judge issued an injunction against Nevada's enforcement of its

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

ban, acting on order from the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit had ruled two days earlier that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage was previously banned by an amendment to the

Constitution of Nevada The Constitution of the State of Nevada is the organic law of the state of Nevada, and the basis for Nevada's statehood as one of the United States. History The Nevada Constitution was created in 1864 at a convention on July 4 in Carson City. Th ...

adopted in 2002. The statutory and constitutional bans were repealed in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

has recognized

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee ...

s since October 1, 2009, after the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...

enacted legislation overriding Governor Jim Gibbons's veto. The state maintains a domestic partnership registry that enables same-sex couples to enjoy most of the same rights as married couples. It allows opposite-sex couples to establish domestic partnerships as well.

Domestic partnerships

''Senate Bill 283'', legislation creating

s in which unmarried couples–both same-sex couples and different-sex couples–would have most of the rights of married couples, was sponsored by openly gay Senator David Parks of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

in 2009. To attract support, he modified his original draft so that the legislation exempted both private and public employers from having to provide

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

benefits to their employees' domestic partners. It passed the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on April 21, 2009 on a 12–9 vote, and the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member district ...

passed the legislation 26–14 on May 15. On May 25,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jim Gibbons vetoed the legislation. In his veto message he wrote: "I believe because the voters have determined that the rights of marriage should apply only to married couples, only the voters should determine whether those rights should equally apply to domestic partners." On May 30, the Senate overrode Gibbons'

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

on a 14–7 vote, and the Assembly overrode the veto the next day on a 28–14 vote, obtaining the two-thirds vote needed to override the veto. The law took effect on October 1, 2009. It allows opposite-sex couples to establish domestic partnerships as well. The ''Nevada Domestic Partnership Act'' (DPA) provides many of the state-level rights, responsibilities, obligations, entitlements and benefits of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

under the name "domestic partnership". They differ from marriage in lacking a requirement that businesses and governments provide health benefits to the domestic partners of their employees if they do so for the spouses of their married employees. On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''

United States v. Windsor ''United States v. Windsor'', 570 U.S. 744 (2013), is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case concerning same-sex marriage. The Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition o ...

'', which challenged the ''

Defense of Marriage Act The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...

'' (DOMA) and declared Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional, reasoning that it violated the protections of the

Due Process Clause In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except a ...

of the Fifth Amendment, as well as the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because of that ruling, federal government benefits were extended to same-sex couples and their children in states where same-sex marriage is legal. The DPA fails to qualify domestic partnerships as marriages only for the purpose of requiring businesses and governments to provide the health benefits stated above because of that ruling. Nevada domestic partnerships differ from marriages in that a couple forming a domestic partnership must share a common residence. Domestic partners must be at least 18 years old, the same age required for marriage. While someone who wishes to marry can do so at age 16 with the consent of one parent, no comparable exception is provided for someone who wishes to enter into a domestic partnership before the age of 18. Some rights provided by a Nevada domestic partnership are: *Hospital visitation, health care decision–making, and information–access rights *

Inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...

rights, including the right to administer the estate of an intestate domestic partner, and business succession rights *Rights regarding cemetery plots, disposition of remains, anatomical donations, and ordering of

autopsies An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

*A surviving domestic partner may bring a wrongful death action based on the death of the other partner * Community property,

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

and testimonial privileges rules apply * Dissolution laws apply (with only a few exceptions) *Domestic partners may sue on behalf of the community *Certain property transfers between partners are not taxed *State

veterans' benefits The US Department of Veterans Affairs provides a wide variety of benefits, e.g., educational assistance (GI Bill), healthcare, assisted living, home loans, insurance, and burial and memorial services, for retired or separated United States armed ...

apply *Appointed and elected officials' domestic partners are subject to the same laws and regulations that apply to officials' spouses *Employment benefits, including

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...

to care for a domestic partner; wages and benefits when a domestic partner is injured, and to unpaid wages upon the death of a domestic partner; unemployment and disability insurance benefits; workers' compensation coverage *

Insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

rights, including rights under group policies, policy rights after the death of a domestic partner, conversion rights and continuing coverage rights *Rights related to

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

child custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...

and

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

Same-sex marriage

Statute

Between 1975 and 2017, Nevada's marriage

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

(NRS § 122.020) stated that "a male and a female person...may be joined in marriage". On February 21, 2017, a bill to make the marriage statute

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions ( social structures or gender roles) should avoid disting ...

was introduced to the

by Representative

Ellen Spiegel Ellen Beth Barre Spiegel (born in 1962 in New York City, New York) is a businesswoman and American politician who was a Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly, first elected November 4, 2008, representing District 21 in Henderson for two years ...

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People * Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * ...

. The legislation passed the Assembly on April 17 in a 28–10 vote, and passed the

on May 17 in a 20–1 vote. It was signed into law by Governor

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval (; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

on May 26 and took effect on July 1, 2017. Nevada statutes now read:

Constitutional amendments

Nevada voters approved Question 2, an amendment to the

that banned same-sex marriage, by 69.6% in 2000 and 67.1% in 2002.

Richard Ziser Richard Ziser is an American real estate investor, socially conservative political activist and politician belonging to the Republican Party. Early life Ziser was born June 7, 1953, in Pomona, California, and has resided in Las Vegas, Nevada sinc ...

, a real estate investor, headed the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which led the successful campaign that amended the State Constitution to define marriage as a union between "one man and one woman." In 2013, the

began work on legislation to repeal the constitutional ban and substitute in its place a gender-neutral definition of marriage. The Senate approved such legislation on April 22 on a 12–9 vote, and the Nevada Assembly passed the resolution on May 23 by a 27–14 vote. It would have required approval by the next legislative session in 2015 and by voters in the 2016 election to take effect. However, as Republicans took control of the Senate following the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

, no second vote was held. On February 1, 2017, after the Democratic Party took control of the Senate following the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 ...

, identical legislation (known as ''AJR2'') was introduced to repeal the now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage in the Constitution. The resolution passed the Assembly on March 9, 2017 in a 27–14 vote. The Senate amended it to include a religious exemption, after which it passed the bill on May 1 in a 19–2 vote, and the Assembly approved the Senate's amendment on May 2.Legislative history of AJR2
/ref> The resolution returned to the Nevada Legislature in February 2019. It was approved by the Assembly on March 29, 2019 in a 38–2 vote and by the Senate on May 23 in a 19–2 vote. The initiative was then placed on the November 2020 ballot for approval by voters. As Question 2, it was approved with 62% of the vote. The constitutional amendment went into force on November 24, 2020. Section 21 of Article 1 of the Nevada Constitution now reads: 2020 Nevada Question 2 results map by county

2020 Nevada Question 2 results map by county

Lawsuits

''Sevcik v. Sandoval''

On April 10, 2012,

Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS ( PWAs) through imp ...

filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. In the case of ''

Sevcik v. Sandoval ''Sevcik v. Sandoval'' is the lead case that successfully challenged Nevada's Recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada, denial of same-sex marriage as mandated by that state's constitution and statutory law. The plaintiffs' complaint was initiall ...

'', it argued that "No legitimate ... interest exists to exclude same-sex couples from the historic and highly venerated institution of marriage, especially where the State already grants lesbians and gay men access to almost all substantive spousal rights and responsibilities through registered domestic partnership." The case raised equal protection claims but did not assert a fundamental right to marry. On November 29, 2012, Judge

Robert C. Jones Robert Clifford Jones (March 30, 1936 – February 1, 2021) was an American film editor, screenwriter, and educator. He received an Academy Award for the screenplay of the film '' Coming Home'' (1978). As an editor, Jones had notable collabor ...

ruled against the plaintiffs, holding that "the maintenance of the traditional institution of civil marriage as between one man and one woman is a legitimate state interest". The decision was

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

ed to the

. In February 2014, the state withdrew its brief defending Nevada's ban on same-sex marriage. Governor

stated: "It has become clear that this case is no longer defensible in court". On October 7, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the federal district court and remanded it back to the district court, ordering it to issue an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...

to bar enforcement of Nevada's amendment banning same-sex marriage. The court held that Nevada's ban on same-sex marriage constituted a violation of same-sex couples' Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection. The court also applied heightened scrutiny in concluding that Nevada's ban constituted discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

. On October 9, Judge James C. Mahan issued the injunction and same-sex couples began obtaining

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

s. Representative

Lucy Flores Lucy Flores (born October 24, 1979) is an American lawyer and former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a member of the Nevada State Assembly representing the 28th district in the eastern Las Vegas Valley from 2010 to 2014. S ...

welcomed the court ruling, saying, "Allowing people to marry who they love is the right thing to do." Senator Michael Roberson said that " e state of Nevada should not discriminate against anyone", while Senator Justin Jones said, "This decision wasn't about being a Democrat or a Republican, but about giving those who love one another, regardless of gender, the rights we all deserve." Secretary of State

Ross Miller Ross James Miller (born March 26, 1976) is an American attorney and politician. He is a Democrat, currently the Clark County Commissioner for District C since 2021, the former Secretary of State of Nevada and 2012–2013 president of the Natio ...

welcomed the court ruling. The first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license were Kristy Best and Wednesday Smith at around 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 9 in

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on th ...

. Theo Small and Antioco Carillo were the first couple to be issued a license in

shortly after 5 p.m. on October 9, followed a few minutes later by State Senator

Kelvin Atkinson Kelvin Atkinson (born April 8, 1969) is a former Democratic member of the Nevada Senate, representing District 4. He previously served in the Nevada Assembly, representing Clark County District 17 from 2002 to 2012. On April 22, 2013, during a d ...

and his partner Sherwood Howard.

''LaFrance v. Cline''

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously in ''LaFrance v. Cline'' on December 23, 2020 that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' obliges the state to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions before 2014. Mary Elizabeth LaFrance and Gail Cline had a

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

ceremony in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

in 2000 and legally wed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

in 2003, but their marriage was not recognized in Nevada at the time. In 2014, they

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

d and filed for judicial dissolution. The trial court had to decide what property and assets were part of the "community" for purposes of division of assets. District Court Judge Mathew Harter concluded that pursuant to ''Obergefell'' he should find that their "community" came into effect when the couple entered into their

in 2000, and divided property accordingly. LaFrance appealed, contending that their marital community, for purposes of Nevada law, did not come into effect until the ''Sevcik'' decision in 2014. The state Supreme Court decided that a Vermont civil union could be recognized for these purposes solely if the couple had registered it as a Nevada domestic partnership, which LaFrance and Cline did not do. The court concluded that their marital community was formed in 2003 in Canada. Even though it was not recognized in Nevada at the time, the court found that it must be retroactively recognized pursuant to ''Obergefell''.

Marriages in the Republic of Molossia

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Republic of Molossia, an unrecognized

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...

near

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, since December 2002. The government issued a proclamation effective from 29 December 2002 that: "Discrimination against any individual in any manner on the grounds of sexual orientation is absolutely prohibited. This prohibition extends to the Government of the Republic of Molossia, its agencies, any private organization or agency (to include religious institutions), and any and all private citizens. This prohibition includes but is not limited to: discrimination as regards marriage (Partnering), inheritance, jobs, justice and the redress of wrongs, education, and spiritual sustenance. Verbal discrimination, i.e. disparaging remarks, is equally forbidden. Furthermore, no distinction will be made between homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships. Both will be treated equally by the Government of the Republic of Molossia, its agencies, any private organization or agency (to include religious institutions), and any and all private citizens."

Statistics

Clark County issued its 10,000th same-sex marriage license on January 20, 2017. The number of same-sex marriages performed in Clark County was 957 in 2014, followed by 4,055 in 2015, 4,778 in 2016, 4,418 in 2017, 4,269 in 2018, 4,233 in 2019, 3,469 in 2020, and 4,563 in 2021. Often referred to as the " Marriage Capital of the World",

(and adjacent communities in Clark County) has one of the highest marriage rates in the U.S., attracting many couples from overseas and other states. In 2019, 420 same-sex spouses were from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, 350 from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, 326 from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, 213 from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, 147 from

, 143 from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, 115 from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 90 from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and 87 from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, as well as several dozen from

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Native American nations

The Law and Order Code of the

Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone peoples, whose reservation Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation spans the Nevada a ...

states that marriage is governed by state law rather than tribal law. As such, same-sex marriage is legal in the reservation of the tribe. The Law and Order Code of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe generally refers to married spouses as "husband and wife" but states that marriages entered into outside the tribe's jurisdiction are valid if they are valid in the jurisdiction where they were entered into. Similar language is found in the codes of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe. The laws of the Ely Shoshone Tribe do not allow for the solemnization of same-sex marriages. Its Tribal Code states that "a male and a female person, at least 18 years of age, not nearer of kin than second cousins or cousins of the half blood, and not having a husband or wife living, may be joined in marriage." Marriages between

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varia ...

people and men or women have been historically performed among these tribes. In

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easte ...

culture, two-spirit individuals are known as (). They performed women's activities but did not always wear women's clothing. Some of them married men, others married women, while others remained unmarried. It was considered inappropriate, however, for two to form a relationship. The

Northern Paiute people Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

refer to two-spirit people who crossed out of the masculine gender as (), and they were likewise free to marry either men or women. The two-spirit status thus allowed for marriages between two biological males to be performed in these tribes.

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Nevada , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 71% , align=center, 22% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 492 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 80% , align=center, 16% , align=center, 4% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 832 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 70% , align=center, 23% , align=center, 7% , -
American Values Atlas/Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 977 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 67% , align=center, 25% , align=center, 8% , -
American Values Atlas/Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 690 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 57% , align=center, 35% , align=center, 8% , -
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 1,502 likely voters , align=center, ± 3.4% , align=center, 55% , align=center, 31% , align=center, 13% , -
Moore Information
, align=center, September 27–29, 2013 , align=center, 500 likely voters , align=center, ? , align=center, 57% , align=center, 36% , align=center, 7% , -
Public Opinion Strategies
, align=center, 2013 , align=center, 500 likely voters , align=center, ? , align=center, 54% , align=center, 42% , align=center, 4% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, August 23–26, 2012 , align=center, 831 likely voters , align=center, ± 3.4% , align=center, ''47%'' , align=center, 43% , align=center, 11% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, July 28–31, 2011 , align=center, 601 Nevada voters , align=center, ± 4% , align=center, ''45%'' , align=center, 44% , align=center, 11% , -

Notes

References

External links

''Sevcik v. Sandoval''
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, October 7, 2014 {{Same-sex unions in the United States Nevada law LGBT in Nevada

2014 in LGBT history 2014 in Nevada