Courts

Family North Carolina Magazine—March/April 2009

UNC Considers Hate Crime Policy

by NCFPC Staff

Members of a University of North Carolina (UNC) study commission convened on December 17 for the first of several meetings in Chapel Hill to consider whether or not to adopt a system-wide policy on hate speech.

UNC System president, Erskine Bowles, appointed the Commission in November to study the issue, following an incident at North Carolina State University (NCSU), where four students painted graffiti on the school’s “Free Expression Tunnel” that featured violent racist comments about then-President-elect Barack Obama. The meeting was led by the Commission’s chairman, Dr. Harold Martin, UNC’s senior vice president for academic affairs, who said the Commission’s purpose is two-fold: to consider whether UNC should have a system-wide code or policy on hate crimes and, if so, to craft such a policy, and to consider whether UNC should implement a “diversity training” orientation for incoming students.

Most of the first meeting focused on the First Amendment issues related to student speech. Commission members heard from two attorneys, Laura Luger, UNC legal affairs vice president, and Hugh Stevens, a Raleigh attorney who specializes in First Amendment issues. Both emphasized that unpopular speech—even some speech as troubling as the language used by the four students at NC State—is protected under the First Amendment. Stevens said that time, place, and manner regulations or “restrictions must be reasonable and viewpoint-neutral.” UNC’s Laura Luger said that while student speech is protected as freedom of speech, there are some limitations, such as fighting words, unlawful threats, and harassment. The attorneys also pointed out that historically, the courts have rejected student codes of conduct that restrict or limit student speech, ruling them unconstitutional.

At the January 15 meeting of the Commission, any interested groups or individuals were allowed three minutes to share comments. The North Carolina Family Policy Council submitted a letter to the chairman and other members of the Commission on January 21. In the letter, the Council urged the UNC Commission not to include the terms “sexual orientation” or “gender identity or expression,” should the Commission choose to enact a hate crimes policy. The letter states:

From a legal standpoint, the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” exist nowhere in the North Carolina General Statutes, and the North Carolina General Assembly has rejected every effort to enact these terms into state law. In fact, less than a year ago, the North Carolina Rules Review Commission (RCC) determined that the N.C. State Personnel Commission lacked the authority to add “sexual orientation” as an enumerated classification to the state’s Equal Employment Opportunity regulations, and the RCC rejected the implementation of the proposed rule change. Similarly, the UNC system, as a public entity that derives its authority from the North Carolina General Assembly, lacks the legal basis from which to adopt such a policy.

The Study Commission met again on January 26, where Rev. William Barber, state president of the North Carolina Conference of the NAACP spoke about the message that had been painted on the Free Expression Tunnel at NCSU and the fear it had caused for many. Barber ultimately questioned the legality of the painted message. The Commission also examined the codes of conduct from other universities and heard a presentation on the UNC Charlotte judicial process, which is implemented if a campus incident is alleged to violate the law and/or the student code of conduct. At the end of the meeting, the Comission appointed a subcommittee to consider proposals for the Commission.

February 9 marked the next Commission meeting, where representatives of three of the UNC schools gave presentations on how they work with students on diversity and community. Instead of focusing on a hate crimes policy, the Commission talked instead of having a values statement, including possible diversity orientation, for students. The subcommittee was asked to bring a proposal for consideration at the February 26 meeting.

Proposal Would Allow Sunday Hunting

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) has proposed a new rule change that would roll back portions of a longstanding prohibition against Sunday hunting in North Carolina. A 140-year-old state law directs, “If any person shall, except in defense of his own property, hunt on Sunday, having with him a shotgun, rifle, or pistol, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.” Although the law seemingly prohibits hunting with a gun on Sunday, it has been applied generally to all forms of hunting. In the December 1, 2008 issue of the North Carolina Register, however, the WRC put forth an administrative rule change that would authorize bow hunting and falconry on Sunday.

In 2006, the WRC commissioned an extensive study of public opinion and found that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of North Carolinians oppose hunting on Sunday. A survey of licensed hunters revealed that 53 percent oppose Sunday hunting, while 38 percent support it.

In a letter submitted to the WRC opposing the rule change, North Carolina Family Policy Council president Bill Brooks noted,

“Many of the dangers of allowing hunting on Sunday with archery equipment would increase significantly with the expanded use of crossbows. Obviously, crossbows more closely resemble firearms, and these rule changes would create a precedent for the use of trigger-activated hunting equipment on Sunday. It is not unrealistic to anticipate that the next step would be an attempt to repeal N.C.G.S. §103-2 to allow hunting with firearms on Sunday.”

The letter also pointed out that, “North Carolina’s prohibition against hunting on Sunday is based in sound logic that benefits all of the citizens of the state:

• Sunday is presently the only day of the week many outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy recreational activities free from the fear of being shot. Many individuals and families picnic, hike, canoe, horseback ride, climb, cycle, etc. on Sunday knowing they are safe from errant bullets and arrows. Authorizing hunting on Sunday would compromise this safe enjoyment of outdoor recreational activities.
  
• The current ban on Sunday hunting respects church services and other activities—especially in rural areas of the state—and protects them from disruption caused by hunting on Sunday. Many rural churches have services that begin early in the morning and continue well into the afternoon.
  
• Allowing Sunday hunting would strain existing WRC resources, because additional personnel would be required to enforce hunting regulations on Sunday.”
  

The WRC has a history of seeking to repeal North Carolina’s Sunday hunting law. In December 2006, the Commission voted 9–5 to recommend that the N.C. General Assembly repeal the state’s Sunday hunting law. What makes this action so remarkable is that the vote was taken immediately after the WRC received the results of the extensive statewide survey it had commissioned showing that almost two-thirds of North Carolinians support the ban on Sunday hunting.