Fayetteville City Council Forces “Nondiscrimination” Ordinance in Single Meeting

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Taking a page from the Eureka Springs City Council’s book, the Fayetteville City Council voted last night to suspend the rules and run a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance through in a single meeting.

City ordinances typically are read and discussed over the course of at least three meetings to give citizens and council members ample time for review and debate; suspending the rules and running an ordinance in a single meeting is a way governing bodies can quickly pass noncontroversial measures or address emergency situations.

However, the Fayetteville ordinance is anything but noncontroversial, and proponents of the ordinance have failed to demonstrate that the ordinance is even necessary, let alone that it somehow addresses an emergency.

Here is a breakdown of the ordinance passed in Fayetteville last night:

Is This Ordinance Different From Those Passed in Other Cities in Arkansas?

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Pulaski County Judge’s Marriage Ruling Comes as No Surprise

2 CommentsMarriage,

Yesterday Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen issued a ruling validating same-sex marriages performed in Arkansas from May 9, 2014, to May 15, 2014.

In layman’s terms, the case has to do with a technicality from Judge Chris Piazza’s same-sex marriage ruling issued on May 9, 2014; in his ruling, Judge Piazza struck Arkansas’ constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but he failed to strike all state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage.

Judge Piazza filed a “correction” to his ruling on May 15 striking those state laws as well. However, by then many same-sex couples had already obtained marriage licenses from the state; the State of Arkansas contends that same-sex marriages performed from May 9 to May 15 are invalid, because they were solemnized before Judge Piazza filed his “correction.”

Yesterday, Judge Wendell Griffen ruled the same-sex marriages performed from May 9 – 15, 2014, were in fact valid despite Judge Piazza’s failure to strike all applicable state laws related to same-sex marriage. While we–and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge–disagree with Judge Griffen’s ruling, it really comes as no surprise.

On May 12, 2014, Judge Wendell Griffen presided over at least one same-sex marriage in the rotunda of the Pulaski County Courthouse in Little Rock; pictures of Judge Griffen appeared in the news to prove it. At the time, Judge Griffen clearly believed same-sex marriage was legal in Arkansas, despite the fact some state laws prohibiting same-sex marriage had been left in place by Judge Piazza. In light of that, it’s really no surprise Judge Griffen ruled the way he did.

In fact, in his opinion handed down yesterday Judge Griffen actually went so far as to describe Judge Piazza’s 2014 ruling as “courageous and plainly stated.” If Judge Piazza’s 2014 ruling really was “plainly stated,” I wonder why Judge Piazza had to correct his ruling after the fact; why the Arkansas Supreme Court has taken so many months to review the ruling on appeal; and why addition litigation has been necessary to clarify whether or not the same-sex marriages performed in the immediate aftermath of Judge Piazza’s ruling were actually legal.

The larger questions surrounding same-sex marriage still rest with the Arkansas Supreme Court–which is reviewing an appeal of Judge Piazza’s 2014 ruling–and the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to hand down a decision on the constitutionality of state marriage laws sometime this month.

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Family Council Calls on Justices to Stand by Arkansans

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 28, 2015

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. This is considered by many to be a landmark case that will determine the future of marriage in America.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “Contrary to what some may believe, this is not simply a fight over same-sex marriage. This is about how marriage will be defined in America and who gets to write that definition.”

Cox said the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold state marriage laws in order to be consistent with its decision in United States v. Windsor. “In that ruling, the court said that marriage would be defined by each individual state. Upholding state marriage amendments as constitutional is the only way the court can be consistent with its 2013 Windsor decision.”

Cox said state marriage laws do more than simply ban same-sex marriage. “When the law says marriage is the union of one man to one woman, that is not simply a same-sex marriage ban. That defines the institution of marriage, and it prevents any other union from being classified as ‘marriage,’ including everything from same-sex marriage to polygamy.”

Cox said the U.S. Supreme Court should respect the will of the people concerning marriage. “If the court chooses to strike state marriage laws now, it will be doing so at the expense of democracy. Voters in Arkansas and thirty other states chose to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Voters in only three states have voted to define marriage differently. Every poll in more than a decade has indicated Arkansans still support the definition of marriage they adopted in 2004. This is something voters have handled very capably up to this point. Unilaterally striking these state marriage laws would signal that voters are incapable or irrelevant in the eyes of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

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