Fifteen years ago, a campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Nevada revealed the ugliness that results when fundamentalist faith, money and politics converge.
The Nevada Senate voted overwhelmingly to add gender expression to the list of traits covered by the hate crimes bill. That means that crimes committed against transgender citizens because of their gender expression will be subject to an additional one to twenty year criminal penalty.
Same-sex couples aren't waiting for the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. They're already getting married, and even holding commitment ceremonies in states like Nevada where same-sex marriage is banned by law.
The conventional wisdom is that equality for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people is only a matter of time. A short period of time because, says Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign, we have reached a tipping point where wide acceptance of equality is near.
