Equality NC to State Legislative Leaders: “NOTHING’S CHANGED”

WRAL capitol bureau chief Laura Leslie broke the story last night when she posted a revised version of House Bill 61, filed as a third version of a proposed amendment that would place term limits on legislative leadership. Senate leaders announced Friday that HB 61 would be heard on Monday in the Senate’s Judiciary I committee. In fact, substituted bill language strips out the term-limit provision and replaces it with the text of a revised anti-gay constitutional amendment.

The new bill retains problematic language defining opposite-sex marriage as the state’s “only domestic legal union,” but adds,  ”This section does not prohibit a private party from entering into contracts with another private party; nor does this section prohibit courts from adjudicating the rights of private parties pursuant to such contracts.”  If seen as a fix, the flawed language creates more problems than it solves.  Despite efforts to fast-track another discriminatory revision to the state’s founding document, Equality NC responded Saturday, saying “nothing’s changed” in its fight against this or any other anti-gay amendment.

The manner in which this “compromise version” has been introduced raises serious concerns.

 “The fact that legislators would go to such unbelievable lengths to hide their efforts and force this discriminatory legislation is truly appalling.” responded Alex Miller, interim executive director of Equality NC. “All along backers of the constitutional same-sex marriage ban like Rep. Stam and Rep. Folwell have said this is about putting things in the hands of the public; it’s now confirmed that they are perfectly willing to deceive the public in order to pass this divisive and unpopular legislation."

The new version of the anti-gay amendment attempts to minimize grave concerns expressed by state business leaders that the amendment would jeopardize private businesses’ ability to provide domestic partner benefits to their employees, as the Senate version banned legal relationship recognitions for same-sex couples.

Early readings of the “compromise bill” reveal that this latest effort, to the extent intended to mend the flaws of the bill filed in February, is itself fatally flawed.  Far from an actual compromise, unmarried same- and opposite-sex couples, the stability of existing state law and North Carolina’s reputation remains at risk.

In response to the new version, UNC Law Professor Maxine Eichner, co-author of a report on the potential legal impacts of the proposed same-sex marriage ban to the North Carolina Constitution, confirmed that the latest bill still has the potential to invalidate domestic violence protections to members of unmarried couples; interfere with child custody and visitation rights that seek to protect the best interests of children; and interfere with end-of-life arrangements, such as wills, trusts and medical powers of attorney, executed by unmarried couples.  It would also certainly strip public employees of their domestic partner benefits. 

As Eichner put it, “The addition of a second sentence in the revised version eliminates a few of the bad consequences that could result from the first sentence’s language.  However, the bulk of the problems remain.  In seeking to bar recognition or validation of “domestic legal unions,” the proposed Senate bill would still introduce into the Constitution a phrase that has never been used in any prior law in North Carolina, never been interpreted by its courts, and never been interpreted by courts in any other state. The bill’s language is still so vague and untested, and its scope so unclear and potentially far reaching, that it could take courts years of litigation to untangle its meaning.”

Fellow UNC Law Professor Holning Lau, another co-author of the report on legal impacts of the amendment, also responded to the third version of the bill: “The revised amendment would still impair the ability of North Carolina to attract and retain a competitive workforce. Research suggests that educated and creative professionals prefer to work and live in places that embrace diversity and are inclusive of gays and lesbians. The amendment risks alienating these professionals. Our state economy relies heavily— more so than many other state economies—on knowledge-based industries that require an educated and creative workforce to flourish."

Eichner and Lau will join Equality NC’s Alex Miller at the public hearing during amendment committee meetings on Monday in an effort to voice these ongoing concerns.

Business leaders will also weigh in on these changes on Tuesday, September 13, at 11:30, at a press conference from the legislature devoted to the amendment’s economic impacts. Anthony J. Pugliese, CPA, CITP , a Senior Vice President of Finance, Membership & Operations, at AICPA, and member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, who will speak at the press conference, responded to these flawed attempts to make the amendment more palatable to business:

"This is about far more than gay marriage or LGBT people in our state. Every version of this amendment requires a divisive 14-month public campaign. Any version of this amendment would harm business recruitment, stifle economic development and jeopardize the kind of workforce diversity NC companies need to succeed. As a member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, I know what kind of factors play into a company's decision to move to or invest jobs in a given state, and this amendment would send a clear signal that we are not serious about promoting diversity, openness or a business-first approach. As we work tirelessly to recover from this recession we need to grow our economy and our tax base with as few impediments as possible, but this amendment would have a chilling effect on those efforts and take our state in the wrong direction. I urge any lawmaker who considers themselves "pro-business" to oppose this amendment and work diligently toward its defeat."

Equality NC has also planned nine statewide vigils on Monday evening, September 12, to highlight the harms of any anti-gay amendment (equalitync.org/vigils), as well as a rally (equalitync.org/rally) just outside of the legislative building on Tuesday, September 13, at noon, to voice growing opposition to this discriminatory legislation. Tuesday’s “Rally Against the Anti-Gay Amendment,” is expected to draw thousands to Halifax Mall to hear country music superstar Chely Wright join faith leaders, community advocates, veterans and business owners in speaking out against the anti-gay amendment.

Voices expressing concern have been amplified in the last 24-hours, as more state and national observers have weighed in to oppose the state’s proposed anti-gay amendment, from Facebook co-founder and North Carolina native Chris Hughes to N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber.

 “We want to make it perfectly clear that nothing’s changed,” says Miller. “The devastating harms of this amendment are still there, the majority of North Carolina’s still don’t support this or any other amendment, and our plans remain firm to bring together thousands of pro-equality North Carolina voices to tell these lawmakers: ‘no more lies, no more subterfuge, not in my state.’”

If passed, the latest version of the constitutional amendment would appear on the November 2012 ballot, extending the current divisive debate for another 14 months, impacting North Carolina’s various communities, business and perception nationwide.