Las Vegas Sun

March 14, 2014


Romney says he prevented Massachusetts from becoming ‘the Las Vegas of gay marriage’


Mona Shield Payne

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his victory speech at the Nevada Republican caucus Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney rallies supporters as he speaks at the Nevada Republican caucus Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.


WASHINGTON -- In an effort to win over the Republican values voters, Mitt Romney is invoking Sin City and billing himself as the only candidate “severely conservative” enough to keep such horrors from spreading.

"On my watch we fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage," Romney told a gathering at this year’s CPAC conference in Washington, D.C., Friday.

Romney was governor of Massachusetts -- “a deep blue state” as he likes to remind people -- when that state became the first in the country to declare gay marriage legal in 2003. Though it was a decision of the state Supreme Court, Romney has been criticized for failing to stop it in its tracks.

Romney used part of his time at CPAC to convince Republicans that he had done everything in his power to counteract the ruling, including push an amendment to the state constitution that failed by just one vote, and limit the reach of the law such that gay couples from other states couldn’t come to Massachusetts for the sole purpose of getting married and then go home again -- hence the Vegas reference.

But as much as the simile of a Vegas marriage may work as a popular reference -- and it certainly worked for the CPAC crowd -- it’s an odd comparison based on the facts.

Massachusetts never outlawed gay marriage, but Nevada has. In 2002, the Silver State passed an amendment with almost two-thirds of the popular vote -- something Romney was not able to do in Massachusetts.

In 2009, a Democrat-led Legislature approved recognition of same-sex civil unions, overriding then-Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto. Still, civil unions are legal in lots of states: 13 at last count.

The idea that Massachusetts could emulate Las Vegas-style marriage, gay or straight, is also far-fetched: There are neither the quick-turnout waiting periods to get a marriage license, nor the support industries -- including the 24 hour bars -- that get people from the proposal to the altar in record time and droves.

As for Las Vegas, a campaign to push for ordinances to challenge the state constitution by recognizing gay marriage haven’t built up much steam. Mayor Carolyn Goodman has not signed a national petition to encourage recognition of gay marriages.

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Previous Discussion: 16 comments so far…



  1. I don't think Romney even knows what he really believes anymore. He seems to say what pleases people at the time.

  2. ... Willard Romney NEED-to-COME clean about giving $$$ to-A-"church," which-STILL-endorses "electric-shock" therapy for its LGBTQ members! &, also was fined several $100,000 for violations of Calif. state election law in laundering-MILLIONS-via political-FRONT-grps. AGAINST "Gay Marriage" with Prop. 8! The-LARGEST-in the state's HISTORY!!!

  3. ... OOPS: Romney NEEDS. & the LDS "church" was fined!!!

  4. CPAC...

    A veritable who's who of American Loony Toons.

    Poor Mittens doesn't REALLY fit in...
    but he puffs out his chest, puts on his 'game face', and talks like a 'Tough Guy'.

    Anything and everything he says will be total PANDERING to the assemblage of right-wing extremists.

    Maybe he'll SING!

  5. Oscar Goodman is going to kick his butt. I can't wait.

  6. That's your candidate, Tea/Republicans. He's the front runner. And he WILL be your nominee. Whether you like it or not.

    He says whatever he wants when he wants.

    But it is tempered by when he looks out at the audience, figures out where he is, who his audience is, then he just tells them whatever they want to hear.

    Just vote for him and shut the hell up, Nevada Tea/Republicans.

    You're not supposed to fall in love.

    Just fall in line, damnit.

    Get used to it. You think this is some kind of democracy?!?! No. It's a Tea/Republican hell world controlled by Romney. Quit yer whinin' and complainin'......

  7. By the way, a little bit off base, but...

    Congratulations, Ms. Karoun Demirjian! On being the recipient of a prestigious award for news reporting excellence.

    You should be proud.

    You've achieved something that a myriad of Fox News personalities are envious of. And, I might add, you have achieved more than any of them have ever received all throughout the years.

    An award.


    Anyways, kudos to LV Sun. Don't let her go. She's doing fine. Hell, give her a raise. I said it's okay.

  8. Romney is an idiot. So now getting married in Las Vegas is a bad thing? I thought he was pro-marriage - God knows his own fore fathers were, they had many wives.

  9. Curses! I have to agree with you losers on the left that Mitt has it wrong. Comparing Las Vegas to MA is like comparing apples to oranges. After all, we never sent a craven coward such as Ted "Lady Killer" Kennedy to the Senate; nor did we elect an Alfred E. Neuman clone as governor (Michael Dukakis); so far we haven't sent as big a phoney to the Senate like John Kerry who manages to divorce one rich wife to marry an even richer one (the only things "swift" about Kerry were his tenure in the military and his boat); and we certainly are smarter than to elect a frog-like creature such as Barney Frank to an office as low as dog catcher. No Mitt, we aren't MA; we're just "Sin City" and having fun at being envied for it. After all, 39 million annual visitors joining in can't be wrong!

  10. Agree with a lot of the posts. There is a huge voter segment in the Gay population. It would be wise if Mitt and the other two recognize that and forget what goes on behind closed doors in this segment. And yes, Nevada is stupid not to make it legal for Gays to marry in Las Vegas. It would be a gold mine. You'd have Gays coming from all over the world to drop a bunch $$$ for a weekend. For goodness sake, Gays can get married in Iowa!!

    Gays have been around since the beginning of time and are not going anywhere. There are gays in the military, in professional sports, they are doctors, lawyers, scientists, politicians, celebrities, cops, firemen, have families (who might just raise the kids better than straight couples, ie watch the news - no gay father killed his kids and blew up his house). And they are your neighbors. Why can't people except this? Like Johnt says, 98% of the Gays are professionals with money to spend. can bet if a Gay couple moved in next to you, their house would put yours to shame - inside and out! (I know - that is a stereotype, their good taste and style, but it seems to be true)

    Gays are just people. Who cares who they sleep with. They don't go poking their noses into straight peoples' bedrooms.

  11. You're right, Munch. What homos do is their business but they have a strange affinity to talk about it publicly. I have no problem with gays; only with some of their agenda. I couldn't care less about what they do to each other and wouldn't dream of telling them what to do as long as they don't try to dictate what I think, accept or who I associate with. As for "good taste & style:" ever see the queens parading down the street in their outlandish everyday wear? If that's "good taste & style," I'll have none of it!

  12. Mitt Going Right - Mitt Going Left - Mitt Going Up - Mitt Going Down - Mittens is Not Going To The White House.
    He has So Many Positions, That he has Every Position, but who else do the Republicans really have?
    I wish they could do better, because Obama like all the Republicans has also been a sell-out to the Banker - Wall Street lobby. But I do not see any way he can be beat unless a Populist anti-corporate greed candidate runs against him, and that does not seem to be possible even in the Democratic party.

  13. Really? The "Las Vegas of gay marriage"? I've always thought of Reno as the "Boston of dumb Republicants"! Me confused, me no have rich daddy to raise and teachee me. Is this really what its come down to? I almost-almost-feel sorry for the the Grand Old seems to be going down the Good Old Potty!

  14. This is an amazing discussion. Whether it is Mitt Romney, or Barrack Obama, or someone else who is using Las Vegas as a "whipping boy" - it amazes me that some people who live in Las Vegas don't understand the kind of perverse and out-of-the-mainstream IMAGE that this "SIN CITY" has - by CHOICE - especially when compared to the rest of the U.S.

    WHY DO YOU THINK TOURISTS COME HERE? It is NOT to do what they do back home; it is to cash in on the gambling, have sex with the whores, drink themselves into oblivion, and in general, do everything thay can to "live fast and loose" for a few days - because they believe the ADVERTISING: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

    When Romney said he prevented Mass. from becoming the "Las Vegas of gay marriage" - I think he used this phrase as a "figure of speech" to put emphasis on his efforts in opposition to gay marriage.

    I note that Las Vegas IS a city of less than "normal behavior" - where Tourists and "locals" participate in all kinds of out-of-the-ordinary" events everyday; a city that advertises is recklessness; where people get licensed and married on the spur of the moment; and a city where "CIVIL UNIONS" for Gays are legal - which are tantamount to marriage (in lieu of the "real deal" - at the moment! - just like in California).

    Yet, even in California, when the people realized WHAT they had previously voted for, "gay marriage" was later voted DOWN by a huge majority of the PEOPLE - but the liberal COURT let the law permitting gay marriage, STAND.

    So if Las Vegas gets picked on by politicians, or churches, or others who may have a gripe about Las Vegas - the people of this city should EXPECT that such will happen, and should NOT get all "bent out of shape" - just because OTHERS use Las Vegas as an EXAMPLE of what they DON'T WANT.

    Mobsters built Las Vegas. Others moved here and continued the gambling and other activities. The FBI has made Las Vegas a focal point due to a lot of crime. This city - and yes, the former Mayor of Las Vegas - were, and still are - a living example of what went on here; how Las Vegas began, and to some extent - lives on today.

    Yet people come here and think they moved to heaven.

    Well, as someone said: "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" - or maybe, just laugh about Romney's comment. And why not? People in other States who read Romney's comment probably DID get a laugh out of it; and may even agree with the emphasis in using "Las Vegas" as an example of gay excesses.

    After all, Las Vegas DOES have a large Gay population, and they those folks have their very own (and very thick) TELEPHONE BOOK (Yellow Pages) - which is available in many locations.

    So smile. The comment hurt no one.

  15. He definitely needs to spend some time in Santa Monica.


    Oh and the straight guys, both black and white, you see are pictures of decorum with pants hanging off their butts, the consummate baseball hat worn different ways, shorts and t-shirts that needed to be washed last month, go to shows in Vegas in those same shorts and t-shirts with flip flops showing off their feet with fungus on their toe nails, old guys with come-overs, old guys who think they look good with their bellies hanging over their pants; let's not even talk about what you see at the Vegas pools. And the list goes on.

    Now what were you saying about the gays and their outlandish clothing? Those are in the minority.

    PS You talk about gays parading around with their outlandish clothing - are you admitting you attend Gay Pride Parades? Seems like you've been to quite a few.