Agenda - 04-21-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1 WHEREAS, members of the General Assembly have asserted that requiring magistrates to 2 fulfill their statutory duties consistent with their oath to support the Constitution of the United 3 States may conflict with an individual's personal beliefs; and 4 5 WHEREAS, members of the General Assembly are considering legislation to exempt 6 magistrates from fulfilling their statutory duties to comply with the U.S. Constitution, and to 7 discriminate against same-sex couples seeking to marry; and 8 9 WHEREAS, such legislation will violate the constitutional rights of our residents, and once again 10 institutionalize discrimination and division through the laws of our state; and 11 12 WHEREAS, we respect the sincerely held religious beliefs of our residents, but are committed 13 to the fundamental constitutional principle of the separation of Church and State, and insist, as 14 James Madison wrote, that "The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious 15 belief." 16 17 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: 18 That the Orange County Board of Commissioners is opposed to, and urges the General 19 Assembly to reject any legislation, that seeks to exempt any government employee or agent 20 from fulfilling their constitutional duties, including but not limited to guaranteeing the right to 21 marry for same-sex residents of North Carolina; and 22 23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 24 That the Orange County Board of Commissioners deeply opposes discrimination, prejudice, 25 and homophobia, and supports preserving and protecting the constitutional rights and equal 26 treatment of all residents; and 27 28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: 29 That, if this discriminatory legislation should pass, the Orange County Board of Commissioners 30 directs the County Manager and County Attorney to collaborate with other governmental entities 31 and community partners to directly participate in any litigation seeking to challenge such 32 legislation. 33 34 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to 35 adopt this resolution. 36 37 Chair McKee said this is outside of the normal petition policy and procedures; however, 38 due to the timeframe, he would allow the Board to move forward if they so chose. 39 Commissioner Pelissier said she understood that 78 magistrates out of 100 counties 40 went to Raleigh last week to oppose this bill. 41 Chair McKee asked if Commissioner Dorosin would accept a friendly amendment to 42 retract the words "directs the County Manager and County Attorney" and replace this with "will 43 investigate and consider collaboration with other governments." He said the reasoning is to 44 avoid binding future boards to any action, and to make this more transparent and inclusive. 45 Commissioner Dorosin said he thought this would happen anyway under the language 46 that was written. He wanted to emphasize that they are committed to these principles, and the 47 only check on this is litigation. He asked John Roberts for his input on the language as written. 48 John Roberts said he would interpret this as meaning that if someone files litigation to 49 oppose this, he would join that litigation, after consultation with the Board. 50 Commissioner Dorosin said he would prefer not to change the language.