LAS VEGAS – Lambda Legal has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Nevada on behalf of eight same-sex couples challenging Nevada’s constitutional ban on marriage equality, which relegates them to only a second-class status.
“Every day that same-sex couples in Nevada are denied marriage equality, the government sends a message that their families are not worthy of equal dignity and respect,’” said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Tara Borelli.
In the lawsuit, Lambda Legal, joined by pro bono co-counsel from O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Snell & Wilmer LLP, argues that the Nevada constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The lead plaintiffs, Beverly Sevcik, 73, and Mary Baranovich, 76, of Carson City, have been together for nearly 41 years and committed their lives to each other in October, 1971. Together, they raised three children, and they are now proud grandmothers of four grandchildren.
“We’ve been together for almost 41 years. We’ve seen each other through thick and thin, in sickness and in health,” Sevcik said. “After four decades of sharing a life together, all we want is to show our love for each other as other couples do, through marriage.”
The other plaintiffs in the case are: Antioco Carrillo and Theo Small of Las Vegas, who have been together since 2006; Fletcher Whitwell and Greg Flamer of Las Vegas, who have been together for 14 years and adopted a baby girl last year; Karen Goody and Karen Vibe of Reno, who have been engaged since 2005; Mikyla and Katie Miller of Reno, who are expecting a baby girl in July; Adele Terranova and Tara Newberry of Las Vegas, who are raising two children; Caren and Farrell Cafferata-Jenkins of Carson City, who have been together for 15 years and are raising two sons; and Megan Lanz and Sara Geiger of Las Vegas, who have been together since 2004 and have a daughter.
