Dear Ian,

This is sort of a rant. While your article did prompt me to write this, please don’t think I’m accusing you of being anything other that a stellar business reporter.

Like many things in Vegas, protection for gay and lesbian citizens isn’t exactly what it seems to be. Having lived in Las Vegas for around Seven (Mostly Lucky) Years, I have come to realize that Vegas has managed to sell the gay community a false BILL OF GOODS.

For instance, if you are harassed for being gay or lesbian in the Nevada workplace, it is very hard to receive any kind of monetary damages for your employer’s lack of tolerance training or penchant for hiring people who probably think Matt Shepherd deserved it. If you’re gay and your employer fires you when they figure it out, don’t waste your time trying to use Nevada’s FLIMSY law to get a little Justice.

Why did the state add sexual orientation to the list of (things people should not bother you about at work) along with religion, race, national origin, etc..? They did it to attract naive gay employees from other states. Well SHUCKS, it worked on me.

Still, Nevada is one of only thirteen states, at MY last count, that mentions sexual orientation in their equal employment opportunity statements.

I have been harassed for being gay once in a government bureaucracy and once in a business. Surprise: the business addressed the situation and we all moved on almost immediately. In the big government bureaucracy I work for, the POWERS THAT BE SIMPLY SWEPT IT UNDER THE RUG. And it got to the point that my every move seemed to be questioned or scrutinized at work. Gay or not, maybe other issues were at play. Still, this slightly overweight GAY LUMP isn’t going anywhere. I expected more from our state and local government. I guess I was just a dumb kid from Mississippi after all.

Speaking of Mississippi, I might have expected or have been braced for intolerant comments and actions, but it was QUITE A SHOCK WHEN IT HAPPENED HERE. I have many friends in the casino industry, and KUDOS to GAMING companies for doing a commendable job of modeling tolerance for our state’s other businesses. I wonder when Nevada’s government agencies will finally come around.

I mean anybody living in this state needs to stop pretending they are on some kind of MORAL HIGH HORSE. Last time I checked, there were legal WHOREHOUSES in NEVADA after all. Gay and lesbian citizens deserve all the live and let live RIGHTS that every other group in this state takes for GRANTED. I mean Heidi Fleiss’ proposed MALE WHOREHOUSE isn’t even going to have anything to offer our GAY MALE TAXPAYERS HERE IN NEVADA, not to mention all those GAY TOURISTS from all over the world. SHAFTED AGAIN! I wonder if lesbians can buy a little time with a working girl in our state. Hmmm…

PS – I know WRITERS IN THE MEDIA often lump all gay people together, but I just want your readers to know I have been OUT for over a DECADE–still waiting on my morning GAY AGENDA MARCHING ORDERS. Give me a break! Nevada’s gay and lesbian citizens are a pretty diverse group, complete with Republicans and religious folks. Surprise! Not you, Ian. I just wanted to educate the tens of readers who will likely see this post.