Concerns voiced on wedding chapel plan

Proposed new regulations on Las Vegas wedding chapels might run afoul of constitutional protections of religion, according to people who discussed the ordinance at a hearing Tuesday.

"It raises very serious problems," said Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, referring to a section that would require new wedding chapels to get what's known as a "privileged" business license. Such an applicant's financial and criminal background is investigated, and the license requires Las Vegas City Council approval.

Peck said that potentially puts a government entity in charge of deciding who can perform religious functions.

"It invites litigation because you are now talking about religion," he said. "I would urge some very careful reconsideration before something like this is enacted."

Not everyone agreed.

"His point is not well taken," said Cliff Evarts, the owner of Vegas Wedding Chapel and a staunch supporter of the proposed ordinance. "It's totally two separate issues."

Deputy city attorney Val Steed made a similar point.

"If you're just a church, we don't license you," Steed said. "We don't license churches. We don't license ministers."

He said city code draws a line between a purely religious function, such as marrying people, and the business of operating a commercial wedding chapel.

The proposed ordinance would enact the privileged license requirement and set up a 100-foot buffer zone in front of the Las Vegas Marriage Bureau in which handbilling to generate business for chapels would be prohibited.

The measures are a response to the brouhaha surrounding the Las Vegas Garden of Love wedding chapel, which was put out of business last year following years of complaints alleging hypercompetitive and abusive business practices.

Tuesday's meeting before a subcommittee of the City Council consisted of discussion only. The measure will be taken up again May 20, and discussions with the industry will take place in the interim.

Evarts and Steed noted that ministers obtain permission to perform marriages in the state from the Clark County clerk's office, which verifies that the minister is ordained and in good standing with a congregation.

Evarts, who is not a minister, argued that the new licensing requirement wouldn't be too much of a burden.

But in some cases, the chapel owners are also ministers who perform the weddings.

That's the situation for Sherrie Klute of the Stained Glass Wedding Chapel, which is also an active church. While she said she would comply with any rule the council passes, she's still worried. "Faith and state do not mix well," she said. "If you put a minister into this, you are interfering with his civil rights."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.