An appeals court in North Carolina has allowed the domestic violence protection order (DVPO) to be issued for dating or formerly dating LGBTQ couples.
The Court of Appeals ruled a current law as unconstitutional that limits such restraining orders for those who want to stay apart from a dating partner only to opposite-sex couples.
Limitations of NC domestic violence protection order
The ruling is based on a 2018 Wake County case involving two dating women, in which Wake County District Court Judge Anna Worley couldn’t give the DVPO– or a 50(B) order– because of the state law’s language.
Presently, the law offers protection for couples of the opposite sex, as well as married and divorced same-sex couples. However, these are not offered to same-sex couples who are dating or who used to date.
Previously, Attorney General Josh Stein and Governor Roy Copper– both Democrats– have already said the law was unconstitutional. They had also signed briefs supporting the plaintiff in the case.
North Carolina appears to be the only state with this kind of limit to the DVPO for people seeking protection from abuse from their dating partners.
In 2017, the South Carolina Supreme Court had ruled that protections must be extended to any unmarried couple.
Ruling for NC domestic violence protection order
The appeals court ruled in a 2-1 opinion that the law is unconstitutional. However, this ruling can still be appealed before the state Supreme Court if the latter is asked.
Judge Linda McGee, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, said LGBTQ couples have the same rights as other couples, including the right to be protected if their relationship takes a turn for the worse.
“By telling Plaintiff that her existence is not as valuable as that of individuals who engage in ‘opposite-sex’ relationships, the State is not just needlessly endangering Plaintiff, it is expressing State-sanctioned animus toward her,” McGee, a Democrat, wrote.
In a tweet, Stein lauded the decision, saying: “All people are equal no matter if you are straight or gay. Today, the NC Court of Appeals recognized that truth and that the NC and US constitutions guarantee it.”
Cooper was in agreement, saying: “State laws should protect everyone equally, including our LGBTQ community, and this ruling makes that clear.”
Legacy of other rulings strengthens LGBTQ rights
The ruling of the appeals court relied heavily on previous rulings of the US Supreme Court on LGBTQ rights– including last year’s Bostock v. Clayton County, which broadened the scope of protections for LGBTQ people.
“Bostock includes a thorough analysis resulting in the conclusion that discrimination based upon a person’s ‘homosexuality’ or ‘transgender status’ is always also discrimination based on sex or gender,” the ruling said.
The ruling stated that since discrimination based on sex or gender is forbidden, laws like North Carolina’s ban on DVPOs for LGBTQ couples.
Irena Como, one of the woman’s lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said, “Intimate partner violence does not discriminate, and neither should state laws protecting people from that violence.”