Bill Takes Aim at Golf Club Fine
2/7/2005
ATLANTA (AP) -- Private clubs that want to exclude gay members would be safe from sanction by city ordinances under a bill approved by the Georgia House Monday.
The bill is aimed at Atlanta, which is fighting a golf club that refuses to extend spousal benefits to gay members in apparent violation of a city non-discrimination ordinance.
Two members of the Druid Hills Golf Club appealed to the city when they were told their partners wouldn’t be treated as spouses, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has said the club should be fined $500 a day for its policy, although the fine hasn’t been levied yet. The club is suing the city.
The golf club case angered some Republican leaders in the Legislature, who said Atlanta is trampling on the rights of private clubs.
“You shouldn’t have to sue ... in order to gain your constitutional rights,” said Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, who sponsored the bill.
Atlanta Democrats argued that the city ordinance is a local matter, and that Republicans just wanted to meddle in the case to bash gays. But they failed to persuade a single Republican—or most of the other Democrats. The bill passed 124-39 and now heads to the Senate.
A spokeswoman for Franklin did not return calls for comment on the matter, but Ehrhart said the bill wouldn’t void the city’s anti-discrimination law, just prevent city officials from fining the club.
The leader of the state’s largest gay-rights group, Georgia Equality, came to watch the vote. Chuck Bowen called it a defeat for Atlanta’s attempt to promote equality for gays.
“This reflects an attempt by the rural, conservative legislators to interfere with Atlanta’s welcoming atmosphere,” he said.
Ehrhart brushed off complaints that the bill would hurt the home-rule concept that local governments should decide local policy. He said the state needed to step in to protect the club’s right of free association.
Source => http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=58605
