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By: RYAN LEE COMMENTS
 
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Georgia prohibit same-sex marriage. Courts are likely
to rule that local ordinances cannot supercede the intent of state law, according
to Aaron Larson, a Michigan attorney and family law expert.
“If the state law says gay marriage is illegal, then for a municipality
to decide to overrule that on its own, that action would be deemed invalid,” Larson
said. “And there is not yet any ruling in any state that says domestic
partners have the same rights as married spouses.”
The controversies in California and Georgia are the latest example of how
country clubs often straddle a line separating public from private, and equal
opportunity from freedom of association, said Andrew Fortin, vice president
of legal and government relations for the National Club Association.
“The bottom line issue is that under the Constitution, people are free
to associate without excessive government interference,” Fortin said. “At
what point does the government have the right to tell you what to do?”
Since country clubs function primarily as social venues — not places
of business — the relationships between members should be viewed as familial,
and thus free from government regulation, Fortin said.
Lynn Hogue, executive director of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative
legal think tank in Atlanta, said Atlanta’s non-discrimination ordinance
provides too much government encroachment into private affairs.
“What the city is doing is a reckless extension of their regulatory
authority,” Hogue said. “You can’t use the power of government
to rewrite the rules of membership for a private club.”
But since the club sells food and liquor — including to non-members — it
should be considered a place of public accommodation and subject to Atlanta’s
non-discrimination ordinance, Kyser said.
“I think most people forget about the public accommodation aspect of
this issue and don’t realize the club is making a considerable amount
of money by selling liquor,” Kyser said.
On Wednesday, a bill that would have prevented local governments from passing
laws that impact the membership policies of private clubs died in the Georgia
General Assembly.
Clubs across the country have begun to examine and clar
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