Senate Bill 662 would amend North Carolina’s domestic violence protective order statute to expand eligibility for protection orders to same-sex couples. Under current law, several categories of “personal relationship” are defined in gender-specific terms, including spouses, people who live together, and dating partners described as persons of the opposite sex. The bill revises those provisions so that the relationship categories are no longer limited by sex in the spouse, cohabitant, and dating-relationship definitions.
The practical effect is to make domestic violence protective orders available to same-sex couples in the same circumstances that they are already available to opposite-sex couples. The bill applies prospectively to protective orders issued on or after the date it becomes law. It does not create a new type of order; rather, it updates the eligibility language in G.S. 50B-1(b) to ensure equal access to existing domestic violence protections.
Impact
The bill amends G.S. 50B-1(b), North Carolina’s domestic violence protective order statute, by removing sex-based limitations from the definitions of current or former spouses, persons who live together or have lived together, and persons in a dating relationship. This would broaden the class of individuals who can seek domestic violence protective orders and align the statute with same-sex relationships. The change affects courts, petitioners seeking protective orders, and respondents in domestic violence cases, but only for orders issued on or after the effective date.
Sentiment
The bill’s title and text indicate a clear policy purpose of modernizing the domestic violence protection order law and ensuring equal access for same-sex couples. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented debate or formal vote history to indicate broader legislative sentiment. Based on the bill language alone, the measure appears straightforward and remedial rather than controversial in its stated objective.
Contention
The main point of contention embedded in the bill is the removal of gender-specific language from the domestic violence statute, especially the current references to “persons of the opposite sex” in cohabitation and dating-relationship provisions. Supporters would view this as a necessary correction to ensure same-sex couples can obtain protective orders. Any opposition would likely center on the scope of the statutory rewrite or broader objections to changing relationship definitions, but no specific objections, amendments, or recorded concerns are included in the provided materials.