Come to a Rally for Traditional Marriage on November 19!

capitol3-1Are you ready to make your voice heard to the Arkansas Supreme Court about the sanctity of marriage?

Are you tired of judges running roughshod over the will of Arkansas’ voters?

If you are, then I want to invite you to an important rally on the Capitol Steps in Little Rock one week from today.

On Wednesday, November 19, at 11:00 AM Arkansans will rally in support of traditional marriage. This is an opportunity for everyone—especially ministers—to make their voices heard in saying marriage in Arkansas should remain the union of one man and one woman.

Last May, Judge Chris Piazza struck down the state’s laws defining marriage. His decision was appealed, and the case now rests in the hands of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Next week, the court will hear oral arguments on the case, and they will decide who gets to define marriage: The People or one judge in Little Rock. This rally is your opportunity to take a stand for marriage.

I hope you will make plans to join us next week. For additional details and to pre-register for free for the rally, please go to www.HonorOurVoteAR.com. And be sure to forward this message to the ministers at your church and your friends so they can join us as well.

The rally will take place on the Capitol Steps in downtown Little Rock at 11:00 AM Wednesday, November 19. If you need directions or would like additional information, please contact our office at (501) 375-7000.

I hope to see you there!

Family Council Opposes Governor’s Intent to Pardon Sex Offender

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 10, 2014

Little Rock – Last week Governor Mike Beebe announced he intends to pardon 25 people convicted of various crimes, including Michael E. Jackson, a Level 2 sex offender convicted of internet stalking of a child in Faulkner County in 2008.

On Monday, Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is a troubling move by the governor. The county prosecutor and sheriff both have objected to this pardon. By ignoring their objections, the governor is basically saying he knows better than they do. That ought to give everyone a reason to pause.”

Cox said he is worried that the pardon could put children and families at risk. “In his application for the pardon, Mr. Jackson says he would like the opportunity to work with youth in the community. Mr. Jackson is already out of jail, and he is living as a registered sex offender. This pardon would effectively pave the way for him to be around children or families without anyone realizing he has a history as a sex offender. Part of the reason we have the sex offender registry is to prevent that very situation from happening.”

Public comments on the pardon will be accepted for thirty days before a final decision is made. Family Council is encouraging Arkansans to contact the Governor’s Office in Little Rock at 501-682-2345 and ask Governor Beebe to decline to pardon Michael E. Jackson.

“A pardon by the governor could put children and families in the community at risk,” Cox said. “That’s something none of us wants to see happen.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Family Council Estimates 1 in 5 Voters Saw Guide Ahead of Election

Last Tuesday was historic for a number of reasons. Republicans practically swept the election at every level in Arkansas. That’s a first for our state.

Arkansas also saw record voter turnouts, at least for recent history. We said it would be impressive if 800,000 voters came to the polls this year. It is estimated that more than 850,000 voted in this election. That’s incredible for a midterm!

The election was unique both in voter turnout and election results, but it was also unique in this: Family Council distributed enough Arkansas Voter’s Guides to reach at least 1 out of every 5 voters–and maybe many more than that!

We distributed nearly 175,000 printed copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide, and more than 11,500 people visited our online version of the guide at www.ArkansasVotersGuide.com.

Assuming everyone who requested a guide or visited our website was a voter, we distributed enough voter’s guides in print and online to reach 22% of the people who voted last week.

Even if some of the people who looked at our guide decided not to vote, many copies of the printed guide went to couples or groups of people–such as Sunday school classes–which means they were shared and used by more than one person. I would estimate each printed copy of the guide we distributed was used by anywhere from 1 to 3 people, at least. That means that while we distributed enough copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide in print and online to reach 22% of the voters, many more probably saw a copy of our guide. It is possible that as many as one-quarter or more of voters put the Arkansas Voter’s Guide to use this year.

Hats off to everyone who helped make that happen! To the people who donated money to fund the Arkansas Voter’s Guide this year; everyone who ordered copies of the guide for their friends and neighbors; and all the folks who passed the guide out at work, at church, or wherever, thank you! You helped us serve the people of Arkansas in a very real way.

I hope you will continue to follow the work of Family Council in the days to come. We plan to have some exciting announcements between now and the end of the year, so stay tuned. And be sure to follow us online at www.FamilyCouncil.org, on Facebook, and on Twitter.