Woman Sues Over N.C. Anti-Cohabitation Law

[Rose Siding]

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- A former sheriff's dispatcher who quit her job after her boss found out she lived with her boyfriend is challenging North Carolina's law against cohabitation.

Debora Hobbs said she was told to get married, move out, or find another job after her boss found out about her living situation. The legal arm of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed the lawsuit Monday on her behalf.

The lawsuit seeks to abolish the nearly 200-year-old -- and rarely enforced -- law that prohibits unmarried, unrelated adults of the opposite sex from living together. North Carolina is one of seven states with such a law.

Convicted offenders face a fine and up to 60 days in jail.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-cohabitation-lawsuit,0,6349540.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Withywindle]

1. BiZARRE.

Horrific.

(I had a looooooong succession of roommates of both genders all through my 20s - who the heck can afford to live alone right out of school these days? I suppose that's illegal under this law too, right?)

[LostinVA]

38. Yup, if they're opposite sex couples

I had someone refuse to rent to a male friend and I after college, because we would be "living in sin." (exactly what they said). We were both gay, so there wouldn't have been anything going on...

[rocktivity]

2. Well, it IS discriminatory

You can't assume that two people are living as lovers just because they're living together. What if my brother and I wanted to share a house?

:headbang:
rocknation

[iamjoy]

15. Don't Think That Counts

"what if my brother and I wanted to share a house."

I am not sure, but I believe co-habitation laws only apply to non-related people of the opposite gender.

When we were dating, my husband had female roommates. I know nothing was going on. We're in Florida, but in North Carolina would that have been illegal?

[Floogeldy]

24. That law is unconstitutional

B-)

[jdj]

20. out in Fairview (home of the Meywes guy that put a contract on Schaivo)

the lady I rented from in the early nineties said that the baptist church down the road had run all her unmarried couples out of her rentals. She rented to me anyway, though, and we stayed about 2 years without any trouble, evey though we were "dirty hippies". I remember being stunned when she told me that, I didn't even know there was such a law.

An atty friend of mine said they are using this law to prevent gay adoption as well, they won't allow ANY couple to adopt unless they are married, so if you are a single straight female with a roomate you can't adopt unless the roomate hits the road.

[LostinVA]

39. That's okay under the NC Law

Certain relatives are okay.

[Trillo]

3. Clearly the law Promotes same-sex cohabitation.

How do they feel about same-sex marriage? If that's a negative in aggregate, an argument can be made that this law 'is bait.'

[area51]

6. "Clearly the law Promotes same-sex cohabitation."

lol, how true. :evilgrin:

[rodeodance]

4. using this law at this time fits right in the Right mentality!!

[mongo]

5. It's about time!

This law got me back in the 90's when I had no idea of it's existance. The landlord would just ask who and when you said me and my girlfriend, the place was suddenly not available.

Except for the people who would start screaming at me about living in sin - really!

[Runcible Spoon]

7. this is so fucked up! is this one of the anti-vibrator states too?

WOW we really are in the dark ages sometimes...

[Triana]

13. anti oral sex too...

oral sex is also illegal in nc

[LostinVA]

40. Even among MARRIED PEOPLE

There was a case in the 1980's outside of Greensboro where a woman broke up with her boyfriend, reported him as having performed oral sex on her and vice versa. The cops went to his house and questioned him. He was like, yeah, so what? Long story short -- he got something like two years in prison. I think the USSC Texas sodomy ruling overturned all of these laws, though.

[Charon]

43. Texas sodomy law

I am not so sure about that. The Texas Law was clearly targeted against Homosexuals. I Thought that it was found unconstitutional because of targeting a specific group of people. Here in Virginia,
the sodomy law does not distinquish between Homosexual, Heterosexual,
married or unmarried. It is still on the books. Does anyone know for sure that the Texas case clearly struck down any/and all sodomy
laws, regardless of their application?

[VegasWolf]

8. The holes in the woodwork are packed with religious nutcases since

Bush has been in office. They are appearing everywhere. Where
is Orkin?

[iamjoy]

14. Orkin is Republican

of course, there is a mysterious contribution from one of the owners to the Democratic Party of Delaware and another owner gave Bill Nelson $2,000 in 2003.

but mostly, they support Republicans.

[Straight Shooter]

9. Push comes to shove. Keep your job until they fire you. Don't quit.

So, her boss is a Southern sheriff? Hoo-boy, don't get me started.

[Broca]

10. Back in the late 70's or early 80's the "Moral Majority"

attempted to get legislators to introduce such legislation in Wisconsin. It went no where then but I would not be surprised given the current reign of rightwing lunacy if it was to come back for another try. What next? Mandating a bible and a flag in every home?

The N.C. law appears to neglect gay unmarried couples to live together and applies only to opposite sex couples. Maybe the N.C. people are half enlightened but more likely a historical oversight.

[lildreamer316]

11. Oh shit.

I'm breaking the law. Please don't tell anyone!:hide:

[short bus president]

12. I lived in violation of this law for over a year.

I feel so... bad!

[DemoTex]

16. Exactly why I am a card carrying ACLU member!

I give the ACLU big bucks every year. Thank you ACLU!

[justjones]

17. This is ri-fu*ck-ing-dic-u-lous!

Between this, pharmacists refusing to fill birth control pill prescriptions, and every other backwards ass thing I hear these right-wing freaks expound in the media, I've stopped being flabbergasted by this lunacy.

It is 2005, right?!?! I'm numb.

[KaliTracy]

19. more like 1965... can't believe we're going so far back n/t

[tyedyeto]

18. It's hard to believe that in this day and age................

people are still so small minded that they have to keep prying into other folks bedrooms.

[ngGale]

21. Good grief!

I knew it would come to this at some point. NC fundies!

[Hissyspit]

22. This has always been around here in N.C.

Lots of my friends have been guilty of "breaking" this law. It's a joke, and has often been treated as such in daily conversation, and as evidence of the ludicrousness and impracticality of puritanistic laws. I believe the N.C. obscenity law is still on the books as well (IIRC), and professors who show certain films in class are technically in violation of that.

[Jamastiene]

42. The obscenity law is still on the books

and they mostly use the anti oral sex laws against gay couples. It's like this here. I can attest to that. They will also use a 1939 ordinance to stop a rock concert, like here in Rockingham back in the 90's. They brought the CCC in to claim a rock concert would cause an increase in homosexuality and crime, as if. It's just the kind of thing I've been pointing out to people. The indignity of being trapped here by finances is gut wrenching.

[Erika]

23. Sorry to talk about the South again

But are these situations for real and you allow theocracy in your states?

[thecrow]

25. The other states are

The other states with anti-cohabitation laws on the books include:
(1) Florida
(2) Michigan
(3) Mississippi
(4) North Carolina
(5) North Dakota
(6) Virginia
(7) West Virginia

The most common reason states give for not overturning the anti-cohabiting law is that the state wants to uphold family values. To eradicate cohabitation among men and women, each state should form anti-cohabiting squads that go door-to-door asking couples if they are married. If the couple is not married, the squad should arrest the couple. Arresting the couple will definitely promote family values among the population. Won't it?

posted by Joe @ 6/30/2004 08:39:50 AM
http://oohlah.blogspot.com/2004/06/cohabitating-in-nc-is-illegal.html
****************************
Note: These are not my words, but of the blogger (Joe?) at the url

[WoodrowFan]

45. Virginia?

huh, my wife and I rented a house together before we were married. umm, I'm a fugitive from the law now!

[thecrow]

47. My beloved and I have been here for 10 years.

[entanglement]

26. Ridiculous. This law has no business

being in the statute books in 2005.

[SemperEadem]

27. Ok...is the law forcing her partner to marry her, too

or lose his job or are they, once again, picking on and discriminating against a woman? I don't see what business it is of her boss to interfere in her life and how she chooses to live. No one has the right to dictate someone marry in order to keep their job.

[Swamp Rat]

28. Her boss is an asshole. n/t

[Ruffhowse]

29. Woman sues over law against cohabitation

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (AP) -- A former sheriff's dispatcher who quit her job after her boss found out she lived with her boyfriend is challenging North Carolina's law against cohabitation.

Debora Hobbs said she was told to get married, move out, or find another job after her boss found out about her living situation. The legal arm of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed the lawsuit Monday on her behalf.

The lawsuit seeks to abolish the nearly 200-year-old -- and rarely enforced -- law that prohibits unmarried, unrelated adults of the opposite sex from living together. North Carolina is one of seven states with such a law.

Convicted offenders face a fine and up to 60 days in jail.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/29/cohabitation.lawsuit.ap/index.html

[Hissyspit]

30. Dupe:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1351740

[Swamp Rat]

31. Her boss is an asshole. n/t

[Penguin31]

32. What are the other six states? [NT]

[ogradda]

33. That's what I want to know.

How could you google that?

[LdyGuique]

34. here are the states

I googled using "laws against cohabitation"

laws against cohabitation are still in place in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. Arizona and New Mexico decriminalized cohabitation in 2001

http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/News-About-Us/Anti-cohabitation.htm

[markus]

36. In N.D. it is limited to housing discrimination

A landlord may refuse to rent to an unmarried couple.

Interesting question: can they, under our Institutionalized Homophobia Amendment, refuse to rent to two men? Or would that constitute somehow recognizing their relationship?

[HockeyMom]

41. Florida

Why am I not surprised?

[clydefrand]

35. I hope this comes up with Congress and every asshole

there is exposed for having lived with someone out of wedlock...I don't care what party it is! Let's get on with the BIIIIGGGGGGGG debate. I'm sick of the Shiavo case. Let's throw a little sex in with this and make it exciting. Can't wait.

I hope she wins her suit and finds out her boss is another hypocrite like the rest of them.

[LostinVA]

37. Gosh, Pender County having a Wingnut Sheriff

What a surprise... not! Also, I think Pender had some of the wonky voting machines. Just interesting...

[Justitia]

44. NC also had that infamous case re: "alienation of affection"

where the scorned wife successfully sued the other woman for "stealing" her husband.

You gotta live in some kind of fantasy land if you think your marriage was hunky-dorey before some third party came along and "caused" a "perfectly" good marriage to break up. Her husband had been sleeping on the couch for over a yr before the affair, apparently.

Of course, the idiot jury sewed a giant red "A" on the chest of the other woman - you know, for "Award" - giving the ex-wife a judgment in the millions I believe.

Legislating "morality" - what a joke.

[Mugweed]

46. I think they something like have that here in my area of Florida

But it's for three or more unrelated people. I remember back in my college days when my female friend and I tried to rent a house from this old guy. He told us we couldn't rent the house because of the Anti-Copulation Law. We laughed our asses off.

[Realityhack]

48. It will take time

but I have little doubt that this law will go down in flames. Prity blatantly unconstitutional.

But then stranger things have happened.

/Realityhack