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'Religious freedom' bill now in General Assembly BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE North Carolina's own version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and other bills that effect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender .(LGBT) community are currently pending in the state legisla ture. The N.C. Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ? companion House Bill 348 and Senate Bill 550, which were filed in late March ? is current ly in committee. The bill gives individuals, business es or other legal entities a legal defense against state action that burdens an "exercise of religion." Critics fear that this could result in businesses picking who they serve based on religious belief, giving a defense to dis crimination, especially against the LGBT commu nity. A similar RFRA law passed in Indiana has caused a backlash with widespread national con demnation and boycotts of the state. Indiana lawmak ers scrambled to revise the law by adding non-discrim ination language to it last week. Gov. Pat McCrory has already voiced opposition to the N.C. RFRA, saying some items in it "made no sense." The bill has drawn condemnation from the LGBT rights group Equality NC as well as the N.C. Council of Churches. American Airlines, which has its second largest hub in Charlotte, has already issued a statement against it. N.C. Sen. Paul Lowe and N.C. Rep. Ed Hanes, both Democrats, have said they will vote against the Republican-sponsored bill should it come to the floor. "You shouldn't dis criminate against anyone," said Lowe. "Every American should have pro tection under the law, every American." Another bill both law makers oppose is Senate Bill 2, which would allow magistrates, along with assistant and deputy regis ter of deeds, to recuse themselves from perform ing marriages based on religious grounds. The bill was written as a solution to magistrates in some coun ties quitting instead of performing same-sex mar riages. Same-sex marriage became legal in North Carolina in October after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up an appeal on same sex marriage bans. It is now legal in 37 states. Under the bill, recusals would apply for six months to all marriages if filed by a mag istrate and would allow those who quit to come back to their jobs. The bill requires the county to find someone willing to per form a couple's same sex marriage, even going so far as to require a district court judge to perform marriages if no magistrates can do it. S.B. 2 passed with a 48 32 vote that was largely down party lines in the Senate. Almost all Democrats, including Lowe, voted against it, and all but two Republicans voted for it. The bill is cur rently in the House judici ary commu tM. "We don't get to pick and choose when we want to do our jobs," said Hanes. "I think that bill strikes against the fundamen tal idea that we have, that they have a fundamental service to the state and if they don't want to perform a service to the state, they're more than welcome to leave the posi tion." Forsyth County Chief Magistrate John Phillips said he didn't think the bill would be necessary locally. He has 18 magistrates under him who do a variety of legal tasks beyond mar riages. They work in teams of three or four magistrates. Phillips said if one magis trate is uncomfortable with marrying a same-sex cou ple, it's simply given to another magistrate. "That seems to work real well, no one is delayed. No one is turned away," he said. If there's only one mag istrate available, he or she must perform the marriage regardless of their religious beliefs. Phillips said he's had no magistrates object to doing their job. He said there was never a big rush of same-sex couples to local magistrates, probably because they prefer to be married at local churches instead. Winston-Salem PLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) opposes both bills. Scott Money, the facilitator for the local chapter of the national support and advo cacy group, said the LGBT community has been very glad to see legalization of same-sex marriage and progress that has been made, such as inclusive policies by many large employers lor same sex couples. He said he was disappointed by legislation he considered discrimina tory and hopes hard-fought gains are not lost. "We' believe every citi zen of the city and the state should have the same rights as every other citizen of the city and the state,".he said. "We feel in that regard we've come a long way and we hope that can con tinue to keep moving in a positive direction." Last week, companion bills, H.B. 443 and S B. 612, were filed by Democrats to give protec tions to state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity and would require school boards to have a similar non-discrimination policy. Hanes said he would sup port it. The state legislative battles aren't the only ones brewing on LGBT issues. On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the legality of state bans on same-sex marriage. Low* MAYA ANGELOU W "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." < M ^VWVVVVVWVVVVVVVVVV" | Maya Angelou stamps ready at the post office I CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The United States Postal Service released the stamp dedicated to the late author, civil rights activist and Winston-Salem resident Maya Angelou on Tuesday, April 7. According to news reports, the dedication ceremony at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. featured, among others, Oprah Winfrey and former Ambassador Andrew Young. Artist Ross Rossin's portrait of Angelou was used for the stamp, accord ing to USPS. The power went out during the ceremony. An explosion at a Maryland power plant is to blame for a region-wide power outage that impacted the White House, the Capitol, the University of Maryland and other build ings throughout D.C. and Maryland on Tuesday afternoon, according to an official. D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokeswoman Robyn Johnson told the Associated Press that the outage affected 8,000 customers in the District. The D.C. Executive Office of the Mayor said the failure was the result of an equip ment failure in the power distribution for PEPCO. Tavis Smiley, friend of Maya Angelou, speaks tonight in Winston-Salem CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT Tavis Smiley had a 25 year friendship with world renown Winston-Salem resident Maya Angelou before she died last year at age 86. Smiley, a PBS talk show host, best-selling author and political com mentator, has written a book about it and will talk about it 7:30 tonight (Thursday, April 9) at Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, 750 Marguerite Drive. The book launch for "My Journey with Maya" will also feature a book signing. Those with premi um tickets also will be able to attend a private recep tion with Smiley. Bookmarks is sponsor ing the event. A general admission ticket is $15. A $32 general admission ticket comes with a hard back copy of "My Journey with Maya." Reserved seating, a copy of the book and a private reception comes with a $75 ticket. The private reception starts at 6 p.m. General admis sion tickets only will be available at the door. To buy tickets in advance, visit www.bookmarksnc.org or call (336) 747-1471. Have a Story Idea? Let us Know news? wschroniclem PLAN YOUR FAMlg7~| FOR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS Schedule your Appointment Now With Forsyth County Department of Public Health Family Planning Clinic. Appointment lines open at 7:30am to schedule same day appointment. Call 336-703-3324 Monday-Friday. Monday. Tuesday end Wednesday 830am1145am t I245pm-345pm Thursday: 9:30am-11:45am and 3:45pm to 6:45pm Friday: 8:30am-11:45am I Forsyth County ^ Dtpmmmnu tf hMk HmM* iting H?nKf^ Improving livm f nUt KEEP IT LOCAL YOUR BUSINESS MATTERS Spend your money vhere your mouth is. SHOP LOCALLY TO SUPPORT OUR ECONOMY. When you need goods or services, we urge you to keep it local! Every dollar spent in this area helps strengthen our economy by creating jobs and fostering business growth. he Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce encourages everyone - consumers and businesses - to support local companies for the benefit of our entire community. Learn more about the Chamber and Keep It Local at keepitlocalWS.com Aprogramof ?CHAMBER I n aumns Rm auM*M
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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