City set to decide anti-bias law need

Eureka Springs to vote Tuesday

Voters in Eureka Springs will decide Tuesday whether they want to keep a city law that prohibits discrimination against gay and transgender people -- at least for a couple of months.

For the past three months, Eureka Springs has had the broadest law in Arkansas prohibiting discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Eureka Springs City Council passed Ordinance 2223 on Feb. 9. It provides anti-discrimination protection for residents and visitors in areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.

Some cities in Arkansas -- including Eureka Springs -- have similar laws that prevent discrimination against city employees or contractors, but Ordinance 2223 goes beyond that.

Soon after Ordinance 2223 passed, an opposition group called Repeal 2223 started a petition drive to call for a citywide referendum.

Figuring Repeal 2223 would get the 96 required signatures to force a referendum, the City Council pre-emptively set an election on the issue for Tuesday.

By doing so, the City Council got to control the ballot wording and save money by having the election on the same day as one already scheduled for the extension of a 0.5 percent sales tax in Berryville to provide money for streets, police and fire protection. Eureka Springs and Berryville are in Carroll County, some 13 miles apart.

The Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce came out against Ordinance 2223, saying its effect on the business community is too nebulous to gauge based on the wording.

Opponents of the ordinance include religious leaders who believe that the ordinance will force churches to host same-sex weddings or face fines.

Under Ordinance 2223, religious organizations can refuse to perform ceremonies in their chapels or sanctuaries, said Carroll County Justice of the Peace Lamont Richie, who drafted the ordinance using one from Fayetteville as a template.

But Philip Wilson, pastor of the First Christian Church near Eureka Springs, said that was problematic.

"It unconstitutionally brings church facilities under control of the government," Wilson said in an email. "By drawing a distinction between the 'sanctuary and chapel' portions of a church building and other parts of a church building, such as a fellowship hall or a gymnasium, it allows a Hindu, a Muslim or a homosexual to file a discrimination complaint against a church because the church would not allow their fellowship hall to be used for a Hindu, Muslim, or homosexual wedding."

Randall Christy of Ada, Okla., chief executive officer of the Great Passion Play near Eureka Springs, said he's against all types of discrimination, including discrimination against Christians.

"After reading the law, I believe that the Ordinance 2223 is a poorly written law, which does not clearly define many of its components, and could be construed as an attempt to force churches and Christian-owned businesses to provide services which directly opposes their personal moral and religious convictions," Christy said in an email.

Mayor Robert "Butch" Berry signed Ordinance 2223 into law and has publicly supported it. Berry said he believes the ordinance will pass, judging from the number of yard signs reading "For 2223" within the city limits of Eureka Springs.

"There seems to be a lot of yard signs showing support for it passing," Berry said. "But there's always that quiet bunch of people that you don't know how they're going to vote. It's all up in the air. It's a gamble."

The council rushed the ordinance through three readings at a Feb. 9 meeting -- passing it unanimously each time -- so it would become law before the state Legislature passed a bill preventing Arkansas cities and counties from enacting or enforcing such ordinances. Act 137, sponsored by state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, passed Feb. 24 and will go into effect July 20.

After July 20, Eureka Springs won't enforce Ordinance 2223, even if it is approved by voters Tuesday, Berry said.

"Ours will become basically ineffective at that point," he said. "We passed it because we did want to allow the citizens those civil-rights protections. Whenever it goes to court, and it will eventually go to court, we will have ours enacted, and we might be able to use ours as a basis when it goes to court."

According to filings with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, Keep Eureka Fair, which supports Ordinance 2223, has received $19,155 in total contributions. Repeal 2223 has received $10,153 in total contributions.

The largest donors for Keep Eureka Fair were Zeek Taylor, a Eureka Springs artist who gave $3,100, and James and Teresa DeVito, who gave $1,915. James DeVito serves on the City Council, and the couple owns DeVito's restaurant in Eureka Springs.

The largest donors for Repeal 2223 were the Beaver Lake Baptist Church of Eureka Springs and Dave Nichols of Eureka Springs. Each gave $1,000.

Also, the National Black Robe Regiment of Aledo, Texas, gave in-kind contributions to Repeal 2223 of $1,150 worth of yard signs and $310 worth of door hangers. The group is a network of pastors that "equips and empowers pastors to engage in their Biblical and historical role to stand boldly for righteousness and justice and to transform society through spiritual and cultural engagement," according to its website, nationalblackroberegiment.com.

Berry said the only complaint he's heard under Ordinance 2223 came from Christy, who arrived in Berry's office and requested a complaint form for someone else.

"Randall Christy complained that somebody from the Passion Play was discriminated against," Berry said. "We said, 'Well, have them come in and pick up a complaint form.' But they never did. It's just ironic that they're the ones who tried to use this anti-discrimination ordinance."

A similar ordinance was passed by Fayetteville's City Council last year, but it was repealed in a citywide vote Dec. 9 after the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce waged a vigorous campaign against it.

Metro on 05/11/2015

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