Fayetteville, Arkansas Ordinance: LGBT Equality

On April 25, 2017, the ACLU filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of three Fayetteville residents and PFLAG of Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas, arguing that the Arkansas legislature’s attempts to nullify Fayetteville’s local non discrimination ordinance violates their right to equal prot

UPDATE: On January 31, 2019, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the trial court no longer had jurisdiction as of the outcome of the first appeal. To date, no court has ruled on the constitutionality of Act 137 of 2015.

On April 25, 2017, the ACLU filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of three Fayetteville residents and PFLAG of Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas, arguing that the Arkansas legislature’s attempts to nullify Fayetteville’s local non discrimination ordinance violates their right to equal protection under the law and would leave them vulnerable to discrimination.

On February 24, 2015, in response to efforts by the City of Fayetteville to enact civil-rights protections for their LGBT citizens, the Arkansas State Legislature passed Act 137, which sought to nullify and prevent all municipal ordinances that prohibit discrimination on the basis of characteristics that are not protected by state law.

In June 2015, the Fayetteville City Council approved a nondiscrimination ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, which voters subsequently approved. Earlier this year the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and ruled that the Fayetteville ordinance was incompatible with Act 137.

The case has now returned to the trial court, with only the City of Fayetteville’s constitutional challenge to Act 137 remaining unresolved. On May 16, 2017, the Washington County Circuit Court granted the ACLU-AR and ACLU LGBT Project's Motion to Intervene in the case on behalf of PFLAG of Fayetteville/Northwest Arkansas and three LGBT residents of Fayetteville. As residents of Fayetteville, Anthony Clark, Noah Meeks and Liz Petray receive direct protection from the legal protections of Fayetteville Ordinance 5781 and are seeking a declaratory judgment that Act 137 is unconstitutional.