LAS VEGAS (AP) - The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is hearing oral arguments Monday on a lawsuit that argues a 2002 state constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by denying same-sex couples in Nevada the same rights, dignity and security that other married couples enjoy.
Eight Nevada couples are plaintiffs in the case, known as Sevcik v. Sandoval:
- Beverly Sevcik, 76, and Mary Baranovich, 78, live in Carson City. They’ve been together almost 43 years, and raised three children in Seattle before moving to Nevada in 2003. They’re retired bookkeepers, and have four grandchildren. “We still aren’t equal unless we have the right to marriage,” Sevcik said.
- Antioco Carrillo, 47, and Theodore “Theo” Small, 46, live in Las Vegas. They’ve been a couple since 2006, and registered as domestic partners in 2010 in front of a notary public. Carrillo heads a nonprofit HIV/AIDS advocacy group. Small is a teacher. They want to legally marry and invite their families to their wedding.
- Karen Goody, 53, and Karen Vibe, 40, live in Reno. They consider themselves engaged since December 2005, but haven’t registered as domestic partners because they believe it provides second-class status. Goody is a medical supply sales agent. Vibe teaches music and is a Reno Philharmonic Orchestra percussionist.
- Fletcher Whitwell, 39, and Greg Flamer, 42, live in Las Vegas with their 3-year-old daughter and 7-month-old son. Whitwell and Flamer have been together for more than 16 years and are registered domestic partners in Nevada. “We want to be married,” Flamer said. “We respect the institution. Kids should grow up with married parents.”
- Mikyla Miller, 32, and Katrina “Katie” Miller, 29, live in Reno and are raising 2-year-old and 3-month-old girls. They’ve been together for 10 years, and married in California in 2008. Mikyla Miller is a lawyer. Katie Miller is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno. They say their domestic partners registration in Nevada doesn’t provide sufficient medical recognition.
- Adele Terranova, 33, and Tara Newberry, 39, live in Las Vegas with their 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. They’ve been together since 2005, married in California in 2008, and are registered domestic partners in California and Nevada. Terranova is a lawyer. Newberry home-schools their children. They want their marriage recognized in Nevada.
- Caren Cafferata-Jenkins, 56, and Farrell Cafferata-Jenkins, 51, live in Carson City with their two boys, ages 10 and 9. They’ve been together for 17 years, held a commitment ceremony in Reno in 2002, married in California in 2008 and registered as domestic partners in Nevada. Caren Cafferata-Jenkins is executive director of the Nevada Ethics Commission. Farrell Cafferata-Jenkins is president and founder of the Nevada Academy of Sign Language.
- Megan Lanz, 33, and Sara Geiger, 29, live in Las Vegas with their daughter. They’ve been together since 2004, and married in Canada in 2006. Both are musicians, and Lanz teaches music at the College of Southern Nevada. They say that when Geiger gave birth in 2009, hospital staff members informed Lanz that they would let her stay in the hospital room, even though they didn’t have to.
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