Tag Archives: Arkansas

ARKANSAS: LGBT Groups Issue Last Minute Veto Plea To Governor

Two weeks ago the Arkansas legislature approved a bill that would ban any municipality from enacting LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances. Without a veto from Gov. Asa Hutchinson, that law goes into effect tomorrow. Yesterday Lambda Legal, the ACLU, GLAD, and the NCLR issued a last-minute plea to Hutchinson. SB 202 was passed to thwart cities like Fayetteville and Eureka Springs that …

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ARKANSAS: Brother Of Anti-Gay State Rep Comes Out Against LGBT Rights Ban

Last week the Arkansas legislature approved a bill that would ban any municipality from enacting an LGBT rights ordinance. Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said that he will allow the bill the become law without his signature, prompting a social media campaign urging him to issue a veto. The gay brother of state Rep. Charlie Collins yesterday posted a public letter …

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GOP Arkansas Pol: It’s Time To Nuke ISIS

“With ISIS spreading all over the Middle East and Africa and Islamic Extremists carrying out violence in Europe, The United Kingdom and even in the United States, I wonder why the civilized world just sits by when we have weapons that could wipe out these barbarians where they are concentrated? I believe it is time to annihilate the strongholds and …

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Tony Perkins Praises Arkansas

“It might not be home to the Alamo, but the call to Remember Houston is fueling conservatives across the country to stop the attack on the freedom of belief through special gender identity bills. In Arkansas, state leaders made it clear that local governments, like Fayetteville, couldn’t adopt these onerous special rights measure that trample freedom and drive away business. …

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ARKANSAS: Activists Urge Governor To Veto Statewide Ban On LGBT Rights

Last week the Arkansas legislature approved a bill that bans local municipalities from enacting LGBT rights ordinances. Gov. Asa Hutcherson, while expressing some discomfort with the bill, has said that he will allow it to become law without his signature. Local activists yesterday launched a social media campaign which demands that Hutcherson veto the bill. Tweet Hutcherson here and visit …

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ARKANSAS: Bill To Ban All LGBT Rights Laws Heads To Governor’s Desk

Via Buzzfeed: The Arkansas legislature gave its final thumbs-up Friday to a bill that would block cities and counties from enacting antidiscrimination laws that protect LGBT people. The Arkansas House of Representatives voted decisively, 57-20, for SB202, with seven members voting present. Having already cleared the state Senate Monday, the bill now heads to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is not …

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ARKANSAS: Eureka Springs Approves Sweeping Anti-Discrimination Protections, But It May All Be For Naught

City officials in the popular LGBT resort town of Eureka Springs last night unanimously approved a sweeping rights ordinance just days before the Arkansas legislature is due to enact a ban on any such laws in the state. Ordinance 2223 was rushed through three readings at Monday’s meeting so it would become city law before a bill in the state …

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Eighth Circuit Court Combines Marriage Appeals From South Dakota, Arkansas, & Missouri, Sets Oral Arguments For May

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap: “There’s a big fight underway right now in Alabama, with a Judge overturning a marriage ban and state officials refusing to obey his order to issue licenses. Anti-gay politicians are threatening to ban all marriage licenses if the Supreme Court rules in favor of equality. And one lawmaker even wants to send clerks to jail if they issue …

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ARKANSAS: AG Requests Second Round Of Oral Arguments In State Marriage Case

Newly-elected Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, the first Republican to hold that office in her state, has requested that the state Supreme Court re-hear oral arguments in one of her state’s two marriage equality cases because there are new justices on the bench. In May 2014 a state judge struck down the ban on same-sex marriage in Arkansas and couples …

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Billboard Of The Day

The KKK has posted the above billboard in Harrison, Arkansas. Placed on Highway 65 near Harrison’s city limits, the new billboard reads, “It’s NOT Racist to [heart] Your People.” It also describes Harrison by saying, “Love Lives Here,” and depicts a young white girl holding a puppy in her arms. The advertisement – which officially went up on Monday, according …

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

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ARKANSAS: AG To Appeal Stayed Marriage Equality Ruling To Eighth Circuit Court

Back in May, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel declared that while he personally supports same-sex marriage, he would be defending his state’s ban. Today he announced his intent to appeal last month’s stayed ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court. McDaniel had said previously he would wait to make a decision on an appeal until the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in …

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Liberty Counsel Cheers Fayetteville

Liberty Counsel is taking credit for the repeal of Fayetteville’s LGBT rights ordinance, which we’re pretty sure was the work of the FRC and the Duggar family. Via press release: In a special referendum vote, Fayetteville voters repealed a law passed by the City Council in August that required churches, Christian schools, and other para-church ministries to hire homosexuals for …

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Josh Duggar: I Fight Non-Discrimination Laws Because I Love Gay People

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Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Clip recap: “South Carolina’s anti-gay Attorney General may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to gay rights groups. New research shows why marriage equality has been so successful so fast. And Hillary Clinton gets thanks for supporting the freedom to marry from an unlikely source.”

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Tony Perkins Cheers Fayetteville Repeal

“Arkansas voters got an early Christmas present when Fayetteville put the city council on notice that it wouldn’t tolerate a Houston-type ordinance. In an incredible victory, voters turned out in droves — even in an ultra-liberal college town — to roll back a measure that would have given locals the ‘right’ to use either gender’s bathroom, shower, locker room, or …

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Human Rights Campaign: Does TLC Know How Hateful The Duggars Really Are?

From the HRC’s blog: Last night, LGBT equality took a step backward in Arkansas following a Fayetteville vote to repeal a citywide non-discrimination ordinance that included protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In a vicious, months-long campaign, anti-LGBT activists painted Ordinance 119 — a non-discrimination law — as something that would allow “sexual predators … to enter gender-private …

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Fayetteville Repeals LGBT Rights Law

Thanks to the Duggars, this will fuel repeal campaigns nationwide.

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ARKANSAS: Josh Duggar Makes Last Minute Pitch For LGBT Rights Repeal

Fayetteville city officials are predicting a large turnout for today’s repeal vote, which is unusual for a single-issue special ballot, but not surprising considering how inflamed the anti-gay side is. Of the 49,000 registered voters in Fayetteville, about 10% voted early. According to Becky Lewallen, the Washington County Clerk, 4,494 people cast their ballot Dec. 2, 3, 4, 5 and …

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