MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed

sponsored by
News
May. 21, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Civil union bill called vital for state

Boycott of Nevada by gay tourists feared

By ED VOGEL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
More Info


An ad for Harrah's Paris Las Vegas resort targets gay tourists. Harrah's is urging lawmakers to override an expected veto of a domestic partnership bill.
Courtesy Harrah's Entertainment

CARSON CITY -- Harrah's Entertainment is warning legislators that Nevada's tourism industry could lose the business of gays and lesbians if they fail to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' expected veto of a bill to allow couples to enter into domestic partnerships.

In a letter to lawmakers, Harrah's Senior Vice President Jan Jones said that Nevada must compete with other destinations for the growing gay and lesbian business and that there could be a "negative economic impact" if the bill does not become law.

Most Popular Stories
  • 'YOU DON'T BLOW A BUNCH OF CASH IN VEGAS ...': Obama remark reopens wound
  • NORM: Ad's Strip scenes raised eyebrows
  • LAUGHLIN EDGEWATER: Two dead in casino car crash
  • Shutting down the Ritz
  • Shutting down the Ritz
  • Former commander of USS Cole considers run against Reid
  • NORM: $1 million wager on Super Bowl approved
  • Tourist describes chaos as car plows into Laughlin casino, killing two
  • Tourist describes chaos as car plows into Laughlin casino, killing two
  • IMAGES FROM 1860S: Photos show historic Nevada
  • Fighter battles rare disease that shatters mixed martial arts dream
  • Flood advisory for Las Vegas Valley




    • "Our state cannot afford to lose any more revenue to other destinations because of a reputation as a place which is not socially or politically the right place to do business or to vacation," Jones stated in the letter, dated Tuesday.

    Gays and lesbians have the highest disposable income of any segment of the population, according to Jones.

    "Our company does aggressive marketing to this community," Jones said Wednesday. "How can we say to them 'we want your business, but we don't care about your rights.'"

    A spokesman for a gay marketing organization said he couldn't offer evidence that the passage by Nevada voters of the Protection of Marriage Amendment in 2002 had affected tourism. The measure restricts marriage to heterosexual couples.

    The spokesman questioned whether lawmakers wanted to risk alienating gays by opposing the domestic partnership measure, intended to give gay and unmarried straight couples the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual married couples. The bill specifies that domestic partnerships, or civil unions, are not the same as marriages as defined in the Nevada Constitution.

    "Las Vegas is the No. 2 gay destination in the country" after New York, said Thomas Brock of Community Marketing Inc. "It would be very dangerous for the state to send out a signal like that. If you don't want to take care of your own citizens, why should we support you?"

    Boycotts of Hawaii, Utah and Colorado have grown out of rejection of legislation sought by gays.

    Gibbons has vowed to veto SB283. Daniel Burns, his communications director, said Wednesday that the governor believes the bill is not necessary because any couple already can secure rights pertaining to wills, inheritance and hospital decisions, for instance, by executing private contracts.

    "We don't see it as a gay or lesbian issue, but a legal issue," Burns said. "Everything in this bill you can do already."

    Tom Nibbio, a spokesman for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, said his organization is not considering boycotts of Nevada if the bill does not become law.

    "We never boycott," Nibbio said in a phone interview. "We are a tourist organization, not a political organization."

    Sen. David Parks, the sponsor of SB283, said the failure to pass the bill might induce people to choose other places to visit. The Las Vegas Democrat, who is openly gay, said he avoided going to Colorado in the 1990s when voters backed legislation denying rights for gays.

    Amendments approved Tuesday specify that companies are not required to offer health care and other job-related benefits to the domestic partners of their employees.

    During hearings, state Public Employees Benefits Program officials expressed concern that requiring companies to offer such benefits would cost $3 million to $5 million over the next two years.

    Harrah's provides health care benefits to partners of its employees. It has won awards for being one of the "Best Places to Work for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Employees." Harrah's Las Vegas resorts include Caesars Palace, Bally's, Flamingo, Harrah's, Paris and the Rio.

    Parks expects a vote to override the veto early next week. He believes he will secure the two-thirds vote of both houses needed to override it. The bill passed the Senate 12-9 and the Assembly 26-14, two votes short in each house of the number needed to override a veto.

    Gary Peck, state director of the American Civil Liberties Union, hailed Harrah's move to induce legislators to override Gibbons' veto.

    "This is not just a civil rights issue; it is an economic issue," Peck said. "The defeat of SB283 would send a terrible message to a segment of the community that we work hard to attract to our travel and tourism destinations."

    Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@ reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 29 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    erictarin wrote on June 02, 2009 04:25 AM: We Won! I feel so patriotic right now!


    Ben wrote on May 28, 2009 07:44 AM: If Jan Jones and Harrah's are so concerned about the future of Las Vegas, why did Harrah's just layoff their entire accounts payable department and outsource the ENTIRE accounts payable department to the Phillipines? Shut up, Jan... and think about the misery your company brought to all of those Las Vegas families.


    Chuck C wrote on May 25, 2009 07:28 PM: There are gay couples who've been together for decades, and the government officially regards them as mere roommates. In terms of health and pension benefits, they get none so they are effectively second-class citizens compared with their straight co-workers. The discrimination against gays is just one (among many) examples of the evil that follows when people get to enact their religious views into law.


    Ex Vegas Tourist? wrote on May 23, 2009 01:00 PM: It's not just gay tourists that would be turned off by a veto. Even straight people support equal rights for everybody. I know I do.


    Hurray for Harrah's wrote on May 22, 2009 04:48 PM: It still amazes me that we get some of the comments that we do. Gov. Gibbons is so on his way out and I say don't let the door hit you on the way out. Wow, strong views ....moving from a state that has civil unions? Well thanks for living here in NV because you must have brought something along with you! Keep spreading the news!


    Shannon wrote on May 21, 2009 05:23 PM: I love it when Americans threaten to move to another country. Just because you are American doesn't mean that another country wants you. Good luck with that! LOL!


    I'm rich your not wrote on May 21, 2009 03:18 PM: I left 2 states due to "civil union" laws, am I going to have to leave another? I will not contribute my millions of dollars to any state that promotes or makes laws allowing homosexuals to have civil unions or marriage, it is an abomination to the moral fiber of humanity. If this trend keeps up I may do what American businesess are doing and move over seas. I contribute a lot of money to political and business fund raisers and I know how states love money and hate to see money leave thier state. The 2010 elections wil be my deciding factor.


    Too_many_lobbyists wrote on May 21, 2009 02:31 PM: In a letter to lawmakers, Harrah's Senior Vice President Jan Jones said that Nevada must compete with other destinations for the growing gay and lesbian business

    Jan Jones is just another crook who profits from her political connections. Did you know that Jones is a financial supporter of that super left wing front organization known as PLAN? wiki says she sits on the Board of the US Chamber of Commerce. Does that have anything to do with the local Chamber pushing for higher state taxes and spending? The Chamber of Big Government.


    Fletcher, Jr. wrote on May 21, 2009 02:14 PM: One more example of the primal greed of our #1 industry trying to dictate policy based on nothing more than the profit motive.
    I'm actually a proponent of gay marriage, but it's sad that Jan Jones couldn't come up with anything more than a financial motive.
    Just think, if Bernie Madoff was a potential customer, I'm sure they'd come out in favor of his right to embezzle.


    David in Houston wrote on May 21, 2009 02:09 PM: GD wrote: Moral Decay in this country continues to spiral down. Might as well let the gays get married, and maybe soon we can get the OK for the cowboys that come to Vegas for the NFR the right to marry their horses.
    ----------------
    Excuse me? You're taking the moral high ground? Your state allows men to pay women to have sex with them. Then there are the adult shows with naked women. It also has gambling and alcohol available 24 hours a day. But you have a problem with gay people getting legal protections? Really? How does this effect your life at all? Does ZERO percent sound accurate?

    By the way, I can promise you there will be a boycott if this doesn't pass. I hope Las Vegas can take the 10% loss in revenue. But on the plus side, at least you'll stop the evil gays from having those pesky legal rights that everyone else has.


    Read All Comments