Las Vegas is preparing for an appeals
court's decision which could make Nevada the 20th state –
in addition to the District of Columbia – to allow gay and lesbian
couples to marry.
Nevada officials are no longer
defending in court the state's 2002 voter-approved constitutional
amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual unions, though a third
party is.
Should the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals – which heard arguments in a case challenging the ban
earlier this week – strike down the ban as widely expected, only
the state has standing to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Las Vegas NBC affiliate News
3 spoke with chapel owners about the possible change. While the
network reported that none of the owners said they were preparing to
turn away gay couples, it said the chapel owners “are struggling
with their own moral dilemmas gay marriage presents.”
“I can only tell you what my heart
says,” said Charlotte Richards, owner of The Little White Chapel.
“I'm going to do what's right by God. And I am going to do what's
right by the law.”
“I can see their tears and I see
their hurt. And yes, there is a Lord and we're all going to answer
to him. But if the law says you have to marry, then I'm going to
follow what the state says also,” she added.
Ann Parsons from Vegas Weddings refused
to discuss on camera her feelings on the issue.
“We don't really get involved with
the whole legality,” she said.