Fayetteville Voters Approve Unlawful Ordinance

Homosexuality, ,

On Tuesday voters in Fayetteville approved a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance that the Attorney General recently opined was unenforceable under state law.

The final vote was 53% in favor of the ordinance to 47% against the ordinance. According to the Washington County Election Commission, voter turnout in the special election on the ordinance was approximately 29%.

The ordinance writes special protections into the city code for people based on sexual-orientation and gender-identity. It is substantially similar to an ordinance Fayetteville voters overturned last December. We have written repeatedly how these ordinances threaten religious liberty.

Many have mistakenly described the ordinance as exempting churches and religious organizations. The truth is the ordinance contains very narrow language that, at best, exempts church property and church hiring practices; however, a minister could be penalized under this ordinance for declining to solemnize a same-sex marriage, and people of faith who own catering services, florist shops, wedding venues, and so on receive no protection under the ordinance at all.

Earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature approved Act 137 which prevents local municipalities from enacting any nondiscrimination ordinance that differs from state law. The Attorney General released an opinion last week making it clear ordinances like the one Fayetteville has adopted are unenforceable under Act 137.

Below are some points on how the ordinance, if enforced, could negatively affect Fayetteville, Arkansas. (more…)

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A.G.: Local “Nondiscrimination” Ordinances Unenforceable

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Earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 137 preventing city or county governments in Arkansas from creating protected classes of citizens not found in state law.

Despite Act 137, four cities along with Pulaski County have passed ordinances extending special protections on the basis of, among other things, sexual-orientation and gender-identity.

Today Attorney General Leslie Rutledge issued an opinion on the five local ordinances, saying,

“Act 137 renders unenforceable any ordinance that prohibits discrimination on a basis not already contained in state law. Because current state law does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, it is my opinion that Act 137 renders the five ordinances unenforceable in this respect. . . .

“This language indicates that the General Assembly intended Act 137 to ‘hold the field’ with respect to antidiscrimination law. The Act expressly prohibits localities from regulating in that field. More specifically, the Act effectively prohibits cities and counties from prohibiting discrimination in a way that varies from state law. . . . By removing the cities’ and counties’ ability to enact antidiscrimination laws at variance with state laws, Act 137 clearly holds the field and leaves no room for political subdivisions to act.”

With seventy-five counties and hundreds of cities and towns across the state, it makes sense that policies concerning civil rights and discrimination would be addressed at the state level rather than left up to each individual city council or quorum court.

The opinion comes as early voting begins in Fayetteville, where voters have been asked to weigh in on a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance. Even if passed, according to this opinion from the Attorney General, the ordinance would be unenforceable as it is currently written.

We have discussed before how these local ordinances carry a number of unintended consequences. Among other things, they threaten to infringe religious liberty, and some of them even inadvertently allow men to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and similar facilities–and vice versa.

You can read the full A.G.’s opinion here.

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Official in Ninth Undercover Video: Abortion is “Where We Get Our Tissue”

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In a ninth undercover video released by the Center for Medical Progress, an official with a company that performs research on aborted babies states plainly, “they’re trying to make abortion illegal, and that’s where we get our tissue.”

The video comes as light continues to be shed on stem cell research that uses aborted fetal remains and the process by which Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers “donate” aborted babies to researchers in exchange for money–something CMP and other pro-life groups are decrying plainly “as selling baby parts.”

You can watch the ninth video below. Warning: The content is disturbing.

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