NC Court Strikes Down Law Banning Same-Sex Partners From Getting Domestic Violence Orders Of Protection

The Raleigh News & Observer reports:



LGBTQ people in North Carolina can no longer be prevented from getting domestic violence protective orders, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. North Carolina had been the only state in the country to withhold emergency protections from people seeking protection from abuse by a same-sex partner.

That kind of protection is offered to couples of the opposite sex, and to married and divorced same-sex couples, but not for same-sex couples who are dating or who used to date. But that ban is unconstitutional, the appeals court ruled in a 2-1 opinion Thursday.