Last Sunday, Governor Steve Sisolak celebrated PRIDE Month by appearing at the grand re-opening celebration of the Henderson Equality Center, where the likes of Congresswoman Dina Titus (US House of Representatives, NV District 01), Senator Pat Spearman (NV Senate, District 01) and Andre Wade (Nevada State Director, Silver State Equality and Silver State Equality Institute) looked on, as he signed into law a quartet of bills that will have longstanding effects on Nevada’s LGBTQIAJ+ community.

Below are Gov. Sisolak’s words on the subject, as pieced together from a series of posts from his Twitter account (@GovSisolak) from that afternoon, as well as descriptions of each of those new laws, in brackets beneath their respective mentions.

Despite all of the animus in the world (and in our country) these days, and the hateful rhetoric behind it; these laws further ensure that it really is a good time to be gay in Nevada.  And that, frankly, is something for which all Nevadans should be proud.

"Earlier this month, I was proud to proclaim June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Nevada, as we remain committed to equality; and this month is an opportunity to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have had and will continue to have in our State and our Nation.

I want to everyone from the Henderson Equality Center for inviting me today, and to everyone who joined us at their grand re-opening event where I had the opportunity to sign four very important pieces of legislation into law: SB109, SB237, SB275, and SB325.

I want to highlight the resiliency & perseverance of this center. Despite the challenges, they have continued to push forward as they saw the importance of providing a welcoming environment for Nevada’s LGBTQ+ communities during these trying times.

Today, I was proud to sign SB109 into law.  Sponsored by Senator Pat Spearman (NV Senate, District 01) and presented in partnership with Andre Wade from Silver State Equality, this law requires local governments to collect information related to race, ethnicity, gender identity, and gender expression." 

[SB109: AN ACT relating to governmental agencies; requiring governmental agencies to request from certain persons information related to sexual orientation and gender identity or expression; providing, with certain exceptions, that such information is confidential; requiring a governmental agency to annually report certain information related to sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to   the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.]

"SB237—sponsored by Senators Dallas Harris (NV Senate, District 11) and Melanie Scheible (NV Senate, District 09), and presented in partnership with State Treasurer Zach Conine and his Chief Deputy, Erik Jimenez—ensures that our State provides equal access and opportunities to help grow LGBTQ-owned businesses."

[SB237: AN ACT relating to businesses; revising provisions relating to policies, programs, and procedures intended to encourage and promote certain business enterprises to require such programs to include LGBTQ-owned businesses; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.]

"SB275—again, sponsored by Senator Dallas Harris, and presented in partnership with Andre Wade and former Senator David Parks (NV Senate, District 07)—modernizes Nevada’s HIV criminal laws and reestablishes the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization for the 2021-2022 Legislative Interim."

[SB275: AN ACT relating to public health; revising the procedures followed by a county or city board of health or a health authority when isolating, quarantining or treating certain persons; revising provisions governing the investigation of a case or suspected case of a communicable disease and an order for a person with a communicable disease to submit to examination and treatment; revising provisions concerning certain offenses relating to communicable diseases; revising provisions concerning court-ordered testing for a communicable disease; prohibiting the disclosure of information about certain persons investigated by the health authority; requiring the alleged victim of a crime involving sexual penetration to be provided with information concerning sexually transmitted diseases; revising certain terminology used to refer to the human immunodeficiency virus and related matters; reestablishing the Advisory Task Force on HIV Exposure Modernization; setting forth the duties of the Task Force; abolishing certain crimes relating to the human immunodeficiency virus; repealing certain additional provisions relating to communicable diseases; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.]

"Finally, SB325—sponsored by Senator James Settelmeyer (NV Senate, District 17)—will allow pharmacists to use their expert knowledge to increase access to care to HIV patients, in some cases without a prescription from a healthcare provider."

[SB235: AN ACT relating to health care; requiring the State Board of Pharmacy to prescribe a protocol authorizing a pharmacist to prescribe, dispense and administer drugs to prevent the acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus and perform certain laboratory tests; requiring certain health plans to include coverage for such drugs and testing; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.]

"I am grateful to each and every one of these sponsors and presenters for bringing these bills to my desk and thank the Henderson Equality Center for its continued support and the services it provides to Nevada’s LGBTQ+ communities."

Nevada PRIDE

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