I Now Pronounce You...

...well, not quite.



But today makes George and I an officially partnered couple. We’ve been a couple for over five years, mind you. However, today it’s officially legal as well. The new Domestic Partnership laws go in effect as of today in the State of Nevada.



We are “Domestic Partnershipped.”


Okay, that does sound hokey. Is there another word to describe this more appropriately? It surely doesn’t have the same ring like “we are married,” but that is what it feels like to us at least. Even if our relationship and our newfound rights are not recognized on a federal level. But all that doesn’t matter for now.


George and I are a happily partnered couple and we are finally being legally accepted as such in Nevada. The state’s motto is “Battle Born.” What a battle it has been for the LGBT community in this state. But we prevailed and now it’s time to celebrate. And we hope there will be more celebrations like this to come for every state in this country in the very near future.


Links to the web sites of the local newspapers and their contribution to this historic day are here and here.


Congratulations to everyone involved and all the best for the future.


George, I love you with all my heart.

Domestic Partnership

George and I took another official step yesterday evening to apply for Domestic Partnership. There was a forum at the LGTB Center in Las Vegas regarding this very issue and many questions and concerns were addressed. Lots of helpful information was provided by Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller; Senator David Parks, who sponsored the new bill; and a panel consisting of people who work for the ACLU, a lawyer’s firm and a hospice. Right after the Q&A session many couples had their registration form notarized, like George and I did.

The law goes in effect in Nevada on October 1st, 2009.

Click here and here for links to Las Vegas’ two main newspaper sites and their articles and photos about yesterday’s forum.

Yup, we’re famous. Below is a screen shot taken from the Las Vegas Sun article, showing George and me watching our registration form being notarized. Of course, in the other photo I have my eyes closed and am hidden behind another person.

So much for my 15 minutes of fame.

Who cares. More importantly, we’re about to enter our Domestic Partnership and a new exciting chapter in our life. We know it’s not the same as marriage but it’s still quite a milestone. Especially for the Sate of Nevada, a bastion of Republicans and conservatives. This new law was vetoed by our vile governor Jim Gibbons, stating that he simply doesn’t believe in it. Luckily, there were enough votes in the Assembly and the Senate to override his veto.

Not all is bad in America. Eventually, true equality for all will come. Also on a federal level. But like I said before, in this country it takes small baby steps to achieve progress.

Very...small...baby...steps.

"Out" and about

There’s too much to do before the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend is coming up. George and I will spend the weekend in Los Angeles, where we’ll be staying with Rover and Cal at their wonderful place for a couple of days. Hopefully, after we come back we’ll have more to share with you. There are still plenty of Walt Disney World photos to show and stories to tell.

We know, y'all will be holding your breath for that.

In the meantime, here a few snippets of things that happened since the beginning of November. On November 1st we visited my parents grave at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, just outside of Las Vegas. Right next to the cemetery is a nice park with a fishing lake. It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon.

November 15th marked the day of National Day Of Protest Against Marriage Discrimination. Las Vegas is not known for political rallies. Gay or straight. Imagine our surprise when approximately 1,000 people showed up. There’s still hope yet for the LGBT community and their rights in this town. Some gave really good speeches and it was peaceful with a fun atmosphere. And Wanda Sykes officially “outed” herself. Was that really a surprise? Uh...duh. We liked what she had to say though.

I took the following pictures of our backyard this past weekend. Our backyard is rather tiny but it’s our little paradise. The lower temperatures right now allows us to actually enjoy the outdoors again. Unlike in the middle of summer, where we have to fear to completely burst into flames like a vampire in the harsh desert sun.