Carolina Rainbow News

Contact: Aaron Sarver, Communications Director, Campaign for Southern Equality, 773.960.2857 (c), aaron@southernequality.org

Legal Challenge Filed Against SB2, North Carolina “Magistrate Recusal” Law

Asheville, N.C. (December 9, 2015) – This morning six plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 2, the state law passed in defiance of federal court orders that struck down Amendment One and declared that marriage is a fundamental right for gay and lesbian citizens. Senate Bill 2 allows magistrates who do not believe in marriage equality to renounce their judicial oath to uphold and evenly apply the United States Constitution.

Senate Bill 2 places personal belief above sworn constitutional duty and unlawfully spends public money to accomplish an expressly religious goal. Ansley v. North Carolina challenges Senate Bill 2 under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs are represented by Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, a Charlotte-based law firm.

The full complaint in Ansley v. North Carolina can be downloaded at:

http://www.southernequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Ansley-v-North-Carolina-Complaint.pdf

Senate Bill 2’s primary purpose is to endorse and establish the primacy of a specific religious belief about same-sex marriage above the constitutional obligations of magistrates. Senate Bill 2 also orders the expenditure of taxpayer funds to bring an oath-abiding magistrate from another county to perform marriages when oath-renouncing magistrates refuse to marry gay and lesbian couples. The law also orders the judicial system to pay retirement contributions to magistrates who quit in the wake of Amendment One being declared unconstitutional rather than marry gay and lesbian citizens. These expenditures of public funds to accomplish a religious purpose violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Senate Bill 2 also sends a clear message to gays and lesbians that they are not full citizens, and denounces the federal courts for finding a fundamental right to marry under the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

“Senate Bill 2 expressly declares that their religious beliefs are superior to their oath of judicial office to uphold and support the federal constitution. And the law spends public money to advance those religious beliefs. That is a straightforward violation of the First Amendment,” says Luke Largess, a partner at Tin Fulton Walker & Owen and lead counsel in Ansley v. North Carolina.

Adds co-lead counsel Jake Sussman from Tin Fulton Walker & Owen: “Senate Bill 2 undermines the constitutional integrity of our judicial system. It empowers magistrates who abdicate their judicial obligation to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens as established by the Supreme Court and keeps in office those who believe as a matter of faith that gays and lesbians are not full citizens.”

The plaintiffs in today’s lawsuit are: Diane Ansley and Cathy McGaughey, a married couple and taxpayers in McDowell County who were plaintiffs in General Synod of the United Church of Christ v. Reisinger, which struck down Amendment One on October 10, 2014. Carol Ann Person and Thomas Person, a married couple and taxpayers in Moore County who were denied the ability to marry in 1976 after two magistrates in Forsyth County claimed that their religious beliefs against interracial marriage would not permit it. (A subsequent lawsuit resulted in a federal judge ordering that the magistrates in Forsyth County comply with Loving v. Virginia). Kelley Penn and Sonja Goodman, an engaged couple and taxpayers in Swain County who intend to marry this spring.

Advocacy groups the Campaign for Southern Equality and Equality NC are coordinating the public education campaign accompanying the case. A press conference announcing the case will take place on Wednesday December 9 at 10 a.m. at the Mecklenburg County Government Center, 600 E 4th Street in Charlotte. Attorneys will provide statements and will be available to answer questions about their involvement with the litigation.

Senate Bill 2 was passed in spring 2015 as part of a wave of so-called “religious freedom bills” that originated in direct response to marriage for same-sex couples becoming legalized. The law allows magistrates to exempt themselves from performing marriage ceremonies and Register of Deeds employees to exempt themselves from issuing marriage licenses to couples, on the basis of their religious beliefs. According to reports from August, at least 32 magistrates across the state have thus far exempted themselves and Register of Deeds employees in 5 counties have done so, according to September 2015 data reported by the Administrative Office of the Courts and N.C. Association of Registers of Deeds. In McDowell County, all magistrates have exempted themselves and public funds are being used to bring in magistrates from a neighboring county for short shifts, during which local couples can be married.

“SB2 is unconstitutional and does not represent the values of inclusion on which North Carolina was built. It targets same-sex couples directly for discrimination and in the process also restricts access to taxpayer-funded government services for all North Carolinians,” says Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality North Carolina.

“This law distorts the true meaning of religious freedom. From the day it was proposed, it is clear that SB2 is about one thing and one thing only – finding a new way to discriminate against same-sex couples. We will keep standing up to discrimination until LGBT people are equal in every sphere of life,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality.

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The Campaign for Southern Equality, an Asheville, NC, based group that promotes LGBT rights in the South, is coordinating a public education campaign accompanying the case. Learn more at http://www.southernequality.org.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Aaron Sarver, Communications Director, Campaign for Southern Equality, 828.242.1559 (c), aaron@southernequality.org

U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Affirms That Same-Sex Couples Have a Constitutional Right to Marry

Asheville, N.C. (June 26, 2015) – The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples in all 50 states have a constitutional right to marry.

“What a glorious day for this great country. By recognizing once and for all that the Constitution respects the dignity of all Americans, gay or straight, the Supreme Court has once again honored the core American values of equal protection and due process of law. “We are confident that Mississippi officials statewide will honor their constitutional duties and will move quickly to begin issuing marriage licenses to our clients Andrea Sanders and Becky Bickett and to the many other Mississippians who have waited so long to protect their families by marrying the person who they love,”‎ said Roberta Kaplan, lead counsel in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant.

Kaplan has been lead counsel in the Mississippi District Court declared that state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, and United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court case that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and laid the foundation for today’s ruling.

“LGBT families have always been equal in the eyes of God but now, finally, they are also equal under the law, with a safety net of legal protections surrounding them. With great joy, we expect that marriages will begin immediately in Mississippi and Alabama,” says Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. Through this landmark decision, the Court has signaled that policies that treat LGBT people as second-class citizens do not fulfill the American promise of equal protection under the law and cannot stand.”

Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant challenged the constitutionality of marriage laws in Mississippi that banned marriage between same-sex couples and deny recognition of same-sex marriages performed out-of-state. The lawsuit was filed on October 20, 2014, on behalf of two same-sex couples – Andrea Sanders and Rebecca (Becky) Bickett, and Jocelyn (Joce) Pritchett and Carla Webb – and the Campaign for Southern Equality, which represents its members across Mississippi. On November 25, 2014 Judge Carlton W. Reeves issued a ruling in the case, finding that the state law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the issue of marriage equality, Judge Reeves ruling will now go into effect.

As part of its work across the South, the Campaign for Southern Equality has been advocating for LGBT equality across Mississippi since 2012 and is conducting a public education campaign to accompany the case.

LGBT Life in Mississippi:

• An estimated 3,484 same-sex couples live in Mississippi according to 2010 Census Data;
• Mississippi has the highest rate nationally of LGBT couples raising children at 29 percent;
• LGBT people in Mississippi are more likely to live in poverty than heterosexual counterparts;
• Public support for marriage equality in Mississippi is growing. Among Mississippi residents under age 30, 58 percent support marriage equality according to a 2013 poll;
• Despite the ruling today from the U.S. Supreme Court, under current state laws, you can be fired simply for being gay in Mississippi.

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Based in Asheville, North Carolina, the Campaign for Southern Equality is a non-profit organization that advocates for the full equality of LGBT individuals and families across the South.

http://www.southernequality.org  

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Aaron Sarver

Communications Director

Campaign for Southern Equality