Arkansas: bill banning Eureka Springs DP registry goes in the crapper

by: Pam Spaulding

Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 19:00:00 PM EDT

The story is developing and will post more when it is available but according to Capsearch, who was twittering the committee hearing, Rep. King's bill to ban domestic partnership registrations, HB2176, failed in committee this morning. The bill was filed in response to a city ordinance passed since the legislature last met that allows couples of the same sex to register with the city as domestic partners.

The House City, County & Local Affairs Committee heard from the mayor of Eureka Springs who argued that the city ordinance has lead to a tourism boom, citing statistics that the tourism has increased 8.59%.

"If cities and counties want to issue domestic-partner registries to heterosexuals, homosexuals, transsexuals, transgenders, it's very controversial," said King, R-Green Forest. "This isn't the same as giving somebody the garden of the month club."

So true. It's not; it's about cities having the authority to grant their citizens what little sliver of equality they possibly can in the face of blatant tyranny by repressive bigots like you, Representative King.

And the failure of the bill isn't nearly as interesting as what happened when the committee decided to do a roll call on the votes. The Tolbert Report:

"A voice vote was taken (all in favor say "aye", all opposed say "no") with what sounded like an equal number of the 20 representatives voting on each side. Most did not vote. Chairman Baker immediately ruled that the bill had failed to pass.

Almost simultaneously, Rep. Kathy Webb, the only openly gay member of the legislature, bolted for the door, followed by Rep. Barbara Nix, Rep. Steve Breedlove, Rep. Ray Kidd, and others. As those members were bolting for the door, two or three members of the committee immediately asked for a roll-call vote-one in which each member's name would be called and their vote recorded. Ignoring their motion for a roll call vote, Chairman Baker abruptly adjourned the meeting. The House rules require that a roll-call vote be taken if two of the committee members request it. When asked about his refusal to allow a roll-call vote in which the members specific votes would be recorded, the Chairman replied that there wasn't time.

"Why were the rules ignored? It appeared that the Chairman and members of the committee had planned this in advance as a way of defeating the bill without having their votes recorded and letting their constituents know how they voted. They succeeded. One member of the committee told me that the Democratic Party in Little Rock was pressuring members to vote against the bill, but that the members knew their constituents back home would want them to support the bill.