Jul 16, 2012

ACLU of NC Report: The Impact of Amendment One

Raleigh, N.C. - The ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation has released a new document outlining the limited legal impact of Amendment One on domestic violence laws, the ability of public employers to offer domestic partner benefits, and on private contracts formed between same-sex couples.

In the document, the ACLU of North Carolina uses information developed since the recent passage of Amendment One, a constitutional amendment that prohibits relationship recognitions for LGBT and unmarried straight couples, to argue that the constitutional rewrite will not alter domestic violence laws laid out in Chapter 50B of the North Carolina General Statutes nor impact private contracts between cohabiting couples.

In addition, the report finds that the passage of Amendment One does not bar public employee benefits policies. Currently, nine towns, cities and counties in North Carolina offer domestic partnership benefits to public employees, including same-sex couples and their children. In 2013, the City of Charlotte will become the tenth.

Read the full report here: The Limited Impact of Amendment One.

"We are heartened by the ACLU's evaluation of the limited impact of Amendment One and remain supportive of any and all efforts to sustain North Carolina's current rights and protections for domestic violence victims, public employees, as well as same-sex couples seeking private contracts for finance or property agreements, trusts, wills, or end-of-life directives," said Stuart Campbell, executive director of Equality NC. "While we know that some have already raised the specter of amendment prohibitions to argue against domestic partner benefits or in an effort to invalidate domestic violence protections, this document provides the basis to preserve the protections for LGBT North Carolinians that it so clearly targets as well as other families who might otherwise be under attack."