Group Spends Six Figures Supporting Fayetteville Ordinance

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According to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, the Human Rights Campaign has spent over $160,000 supporting Fayetteville’s controversial “nondiscrimination” ordinance.

The support came in the form of “nonmoney contributions” such as staff, legal assistance, mailings, advertising, website services, and so on to the group Keep Fayetteville Fair. Altogether, HRC has provided $160,080.05 in nonmoney contributions.

From the looks of the report, Human Rights Campaign appears to be footing most of the bill in the campaign to keep Fayetteville’s ordinance on the books. Besides HRC’s nonmoney contributions, the report shows Keep Fayetteville Fair received almost $23,000 in financial contributions from various citizens and groups, including $250 from the Pulaski County Democratic Committee; $200 from State Senator Joyce Elliott; $1,500 from the NWA Center for Equality; $1,000 from the Markham Group; $100 from former Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien; $100 from former Arkansas legislator Will Bond; and $250 from former Arkansas legislator James Argue.

We have written repeatedly about the unintended consequences of Fayetteville’s so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance. The ordinance is heavily opposed by ministers, the local Chamber of Commerce, various business leaders, and thousands of Fayetteville residents.

The special election to repeal the ordinance will take place Tuesday, December 9; early voting in Fayetteville has already started.

You can read our analysis of the ordinance and its unintended consequences here.

You can see a full copy of Keep Fayetteville Fair’s financial report here.

Photo Credit: “Old Main from the northwest, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas (autumn)” by Brandonrush – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

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Family Council Opposes Governor’s Intent to Pardon Sex Offender

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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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U.S. Catholic Bishops Release “Faithful Citizenship” Guide

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This week, Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock cited the “Faithful Citizenship” document released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a homily posted on The Arkansas Catholic‘s website.

In his homily, Bishop Taylor said,

“To help us sort out what to do, the bishops of the United States issue — or re-issue — for every election cycle a ‘Faithful Citizenship’ document to help us make a prudential judgment regarding how best to ‘Give to God what is God’s’ in the difficult and confusing choices before us. This is not just a matter of opposing evil; it also requires that we work actively to do good.”

The Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the document in two forms: A short summary and a lengthier Call to Political Responsibility.

(more…)

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