Richard Ziser is a Nevada Real Estate Investor

Real estate investor

A real estate investor or a real estate entrepreneur to a lesser extent is someone who actively or passively invests in real estate. An active investor may buy a property, make repairs and/or improvements to the property, and sell it later for a profit. A passive investor might hire a firm to...

, Socially Conservative

Social conservatism

Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...

 Political activist and U.S. Republican Politician

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. He was born June 7, 1953, in Pomona, CA., and has resided in Las Vegas Nevada since 1991. He graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...

 (Cal Poly Pomona) with a BS in Industrial Engineering, 1976; then subsequently from Simon Greenleaf University in Santa Ana, Ca. (now a campus of Trinity International University

Trinity International University

Trinity International University is an evangelical Christian institution of higher education headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. It comprises an undergraduate college, a graduate school, a theological seminary , and a law school--together with nearly 3,000 students...

, with an MA in Christian Apologetics in 1989.

In 2004, Ziser ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate, against Democratic incumbent Harry Reid

Harry Reid

Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...

, losing 61%-35%. In 1998, Ziser lost his election bid to be on The Clark County, Nevada

Clark County, Nevada

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...

, School Board.

Ziser is head of The Nevada Concerned Citizens, was head of The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, and successfully aided a 2000 change in Nevada's State Constitution, defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. In light of The Nevada Legislature's overriding of Governor Jim Gibbons' veto on domestic partnership legislation

Recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada

Same-sex marriage in Nevada was banned in 2002 through Question 2, an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada, which passed with almost 67 percent of the vote. In 2009, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to create legal recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada...

; due to take effect October 1, 2009. Ziser has recently stated his intents to overturn the legislation as unconstitutional.

See also

• Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
• Domestic partnership
  Domestic partnership
  A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
  
  
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada
  Recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada
  Same-sex marriage in Nevada was banned in 2002 through Question 2, an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada, which passed with almost 67 percent of the vote. In 2009, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to create legal recognition of same-sex unions in Nevada...
  
  

Sources

• Nevada Concerned Citizens (Coalition for the Protection of Marriage)
• Richard Ziser for Senate Website, Internet Archive, August 28, 2004 Crawl
• Jane Ann Morrison, "Panel dismisses complaint over political ad", Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 25, 1998
• "Petition to ban same-sex marriages cheered", Las Vegas Sun, January 5, 2000
• Kris Hill, "Bill may extend rights for gays", Las Vegas Sun, March 27, 2001
• Erin Neff, "Ziser, marriage protection organizer, runs for Senate", Las Vegas Sun, August 28, 2003
• Erin Neff and Michael Squires, "Political Notebook: Subpoenas, polygraphs part of Moncrief probe", Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 26, 2003
• Steve Sebelius-OpEd, "A very bad sign", Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 16, 2004
• Richard Ziser, "The Next Step In Marriage Protection", Desert Saints Magazine, July 2006 Issue
• Richard Fitzpatrick, "Being politically correct on Family Day 2006", Nevada Confidential, November 22, 2006
• Steve Sebelius, "Have we had enough hate yet?", Las Vegas CityLife, June 21, 2007
• Erin NefF-OpEd, "More 'protection'", Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 18, 2006
• Andrew Kiraly, "Oh, about that ruined state economy: Blame Richard Ziser, too.", Las Vegas CityLife, July 29, 2008
• Richard Lake, "Same-sex marriage ban might be costing Nevada", Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 29, 2008
• "Richard Ziser and Janine Hanson Do A Tag-Team Of Stupid At The Nevada Legislature", Vegas Tea Room, March 27, 2009
• "Domestic partnerships to be law in Nevada", United Press International, June 1, 2009
• Ed Vogel and Molly Ball, "Lawmakers override veto of domestic partner bill", The Ely News, June 6, 2009
• Martha Bellisle, "Nevada partners law to enable registered couples to adopt children", Reno Gazette-Journal, June 4, 2009
• Kathleen Hennessey, "Sen. Ensign's admission blurs conservative image", Associated Press, June 17, 2009