Same-sex marriage separates Jones, Harris

When it comes to same-sex marriage, state Senate District 9 incumbent Justin Jones and challenger Becky Harris have a record of widely contrasting views.

This gulf dates well before Harris, a Republican, started campaigning against Jones, a Democrat.

The historic Oct. 7 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturning Nevada’s ban on same-sex marriage adds another dimension to the race with less than a month before the Nov. 4 election. It brings a distinguishing difference between the two candidates to the campaign.

“I certainly think that equality is always a campaign issue,” Jones said. “Certainly, it’s one of those issues that distinguishes my opponent and I. I think that knowing that distinction for voters is important.”

Harris didn’t return multiple calls seeking comment.

Same-sex marriages started Oct. 9 in Nevada.

In 2001, Harris testified against a bill at an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing in Carson City on behalf of the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage in Nevada. The legislation would have established reciprocal beneficiary relationships that allow people to designate a non-spouse as a beneficiary for dealing with important life issues, such as illnesses and medical care. The legislation, which died, was widely embraced by same-sex couples.

Thirteen years later, it serves as a contrast between Harris and Jones. Jones in 2013 supported Senate Joint Resolution 13, a proposed Nevada constitutional amendment that would recognize marriages regardless of gender.

Harris testified that most of the benefits the bill would have provided already were covered with other existing legal options, including wills, trusts and powers of attorney. She also testified that those options were sufficient for all, “regardless of sexual preferences or family relationships,” according to meeting minutes.

The coalition was a driving force behind passage of a petition to amend the Nevada Constitution and ban same-sex marriage. Voters approved the measure in 2000 and again in 2002. Harris donated $3,000 to the coalition in August 2000, contribution records show.

Jones, on the other hand, welcomed the recent court ruling that allows same-sex marriage.

“This is a great victory for everyone in Nevada who believes marriage is something everyone should be entitled to,” Jones said.

Jones said he has “been a strong proponent for marriage equality for quite some time.” Jones said his opponent doesn’t back even the “most basic protections” for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people.

— Ben Botkin

RANCHERS RIDE MESSAGE TO D.C.

A convoy of Northern Nevadans clomped into the nation’s capital Thursday, after 20 days crossing the country on horseback, to call attention to the plight of ranchers and what they call overbearing federal land management.

The Grass March Cowboy Express made itself known during rush hour, with 20 riders counted in Georgetown. Police carried out rolling closures of Washington avenues to allow the riders a safe path to the U.S. Capitol. Once there, they delivered petitions to the offices of Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, both R-Nev., and met with aides to five other supportive members of Congress.

Man and animal hosted a small reception afterward on the Capitol grounds.

“We’re here to ask for relief from the overreach of the BLM right now in the Battle Mountain area,” said trip coordinator Kate Jones, one of the riders.

Ranching families in the district are protesting the Bureau of Land Management closing grazing on the 350,000-acre Argenta Allotment south of Battle Mountain due to drought.

“Regulation without Representation is Tyranny,” read a banner on the group’s horse trailer, which made several stops across the heartland.

The 2,800-mile trip organized by Elko County Commissioner Grant Gerber began Sept. 26 at Bodega Bay, Calif. It ended Friday, with the horses dipping their hooves in the Atlantic Ocean at Rehoboth Beach, Del. Nine riders started in California, and more joined in Utah. The original nine completed the trek.

The group traveled an average of 150-175 miles per day, Jones said. Twenty-eight horses and two mules that pulled a wagon made the trip, with horses and riders rotating out every 4 to 5 five miles. The horses wore a type of rubber shoe that provided a better grip on pavement and eased stress on their legs.

“We were able to talk with the people we needed to speak with,” Jones said. “It sounds like they are willing to listen and work with us.”

At the end of the week, the Nevadans were trailering their horses for the drive home, expected to take about four days.

— Steve Tetreault

ENDORSEMENT WITH AN INVOICE

In Henderson on July 23, Vice President Joe Biden appeared onstage and embraced fellow Democrat Erin Bilbray. “You’re for everything I’ve always believed in,” Biden told the beaming local candidate for Congress at a raucous rally.

The endorsement from the always-enthusiastic vice president gave a shot in the arm to Bilbray, who is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Joe Heck in the 3rd Congressional District.

Biden’s appearance also came with an invoice. Two weeks later, Bilbray’s campaign signed a check to the Democratic National Committee for $13,500, a disbursement that turned up on her latest campaign finance report.

The check covered the cost of Biden’s motorcade, Secret Service detail and other logistics tied to the Bilbray rally, according to Democratic officials. The vice president also spoke that day to an NAACP convention in Las Vegas, presumably part of his official job.

As had long been standard for top leaders, when Biden and President Barack Obama appear at events that are clearly political, the cost is not borne by taxpayers but by political party organizations.

“It’s not cheap,” a Democratic official said. “To move them from point A to point B, we have to pay for it.”

Bilbray hasn’t been able to match Heck in fundraising during the campaign, with the latest reports showing he has raised twice as much as she has. But Bilbray considered picking up Biden’s expenses for a full-throated endorsement to be money well-spent, according to campaign manager Adriana Martinez.

“We were delighted to receive the endorsement of Vice President Biden,” Martinez said.

— Steve Tetreault

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1. Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.