“imposing on her the liabilities that he would normally sustain by himself.” But one person’s responsibility is another’s peace of mind — and a new way to conceptualize a relationship. “Once the law took effect, there was that moment of realization: ‘Wow, that’s my spouse,’” says Michael Ginsburg, Southern Nevada director for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, smiling across a cluttered office at his partner of 18 years, Tod Story. “That means something. If something does happen, if there’s an accident, and we have to go to the hospital, or any of those kinds of situations, you can simply say, ‘That’s my spouse,’ and you don’t have to explain who you are.” Story, who is chair of the Community and Public Affairs Committee for the Gay & Lesbian Community Center, meets his partner’s smile with a serious nod, adding, “Even though our families are both very supportive, and we’re open, to think that someone else could make those decisions for you after you’ve spent your life with someone. … You can just imagine how awful it would be.” Ginsburg and Story were among the couples invited by the Secretary of State to receive their domestic partner certificates at special ceremonies in Carson City and Las Vegas the day the law took effect. “The most touching story, for me, was by Larry Davis and Lee Cagley, the first couple to receive their certificate,” says Miller. “Lee was the interior designer for the governor’s mansion when my family lived there, so I knew him. When they got their certificate here in the capitol, Lee explained how he was a longtime Nevada resident and had experienced some discrimination firsthand. Getting the certificate, the recognition — and everything it took to get to that point — meant so much to him that while he was talking, he broke down in tears.” Coming together, right now Davis and others aren’t brought to tears only by the personal significance of finally being able to declare their love for their partners openly and legally. For hundreds of people, the tears followed weeks, months, even years, of manning phone banks, pressing the flesh, organizing rallies and other activism. That was the case for Josh Miller and his decade-long partner, Steve Amend.
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