Federal Judge Says Local Voters in Charge Can File Amicus Brief in Lawsuit Over Casino Amendment

The federal judge presiding over the lawsuit regarding Issue 2 has determined the group Local Voters in Charge can file an amicus brief in the case.

Issue 2 is a constitutional amendment that voters passed on November 5. The measure prevents the State of Arkansas from licensing a casino in Pope County.

It also prevents any additional casinos from being opened in Arkansas without a new constitutional amendment and without local voter approval at a special election.

Cherokee Nation Business received a license to operate a casino in Pope County before Issue 2 passed. After passage of Issue 2, Cherokee Nation Business filed a federal lawsuit to undo the will of the people and block the amendment.

Local Voters in Charge worked to place Issue 2 on the ballot. After Cherokee Nation Business sued to block Issue 2, Local Voters in Charge asked the federal court for permission to intervene in the lawsuit.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., issue an order denying Local Voters in Charge’s request to intervene. However, the judge gave the group permission to file an amicus brief in the case.

The amicus brief will give Local Voters in Charge an opportunity to provide arguments and information in support of Issue 2.

Legalized gambling has become a scourge in our state. On average, Arkansans are gambling more than a million dollars every day on sports betting alone. In spite of that, casino tax revenue has not improved Arkansas’ roads or boosted the economy. Instead it’s hurt our communities. The Arkansas Problem Gambling Council has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling this year. Unless Arkansas’ lawmakers and its people take a stand, gambling addiction is simply going to continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Prisha Mosley: “Transition Did Not Fix My Distress”

The following is from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom, sharing the story of de-transitioner Prisha Mosley. You can read more at: https://adflegal.org/article/preventable-tragedies-why-de-transitioners-are-suing-doctors/

Prisha Mosley was falsely told that harmful drugs and surgeries would fix the discomfort she was feeling with her gender.

Prisha was never able to truly give informed consent, because she wasn’t given all the relevant information about the drugs and surgeries she underwent. While Prisha eventually chose to stop these drugs and surgeries and fully embrace who she is as a woman, she unfortunately must live with many of the irreversible effects for the rest of her life.

Today, Prisha regularly speaks out about her experience in hopes that other people experiencing discomfort with their gender don’t have to go down the same painful road that she did. “I’m hoping that transition won’t do this to any other child’s life,” Prisha said.

Planned Parenthood Asks Court to Strike Missouri’s Pro-Life Laws Under New Abortion Amendment

On Tuesday, voters in Missouri narrowly passed an amendment writing abortion into the Missouri Constitution. On Wednesday, Planned Parenthood filed a sweeping lawsuit challenging virtually all of Missouri’s good, pro-life laws.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and the organization consistently opposes policies that protect women and unborn children from abortion.

Wednesday’s lawsuit challenges Missouri’s many pro-life measures, including the state’s good laws that:

  • Prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother
  • Require abortionists to give women information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives
  • Require abortionists to give women 72 hours to consider all options before an abortion
  • Protect unborn children from being aborted due to their race or sex or due to being at risk for Down Syndrome
  • Require abortion facilities to be licensed and inspected by the state
  • Require abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges in case the woman experiences complications from abortion
  • Outline how abortion data is recorded and reported to the state for statistical purposes
  • Prohibit telemed abortions in Missouri
  • Prevent healthcare professionals other than doctors from performing abortions
  • Require abortionists to maintain various plans and agreements for handling abortion complications

This is not the first time pro-abortion groups have challenged commonsense abortion regulations in court. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU challenged reasonable pro-life laws in Ohio after an abortion amendment passed in that state last year.

Informed-consent requirements and facility inspection standards protect women from dangerous abortion practices, but those are the kinds of laws pro-abortion groups are challenging in court.

It does not seem likely that Missouri voters want unreported abortions happening in unlicensed facilities, but the state is facing that possibility now that this abortion amendment has passed.

It’s worth pointing out that Arkansas’ pro-life laws are very similar to Missouri’s — meaning that an abortion amendment in Arkansas likely would jeopardize the very same good laws.

All of this serves as a warning about what can happen when states write sweeping, pro-abortion language into their state constitutions.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.