Decency – Page 4 – Family Council

Senate Committee Passes Bill Addressing Sexual Indecency With a Minor

Feb 27, 2023Jerry CoxDecency, LegislationArkansas Legislature, Decency, Sexual Indecency

*Above: Sen. Payton (left) and Family Council staff member Luke McCoy (right) address the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of S.B. 270.*

On Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill addressing sexual indecency with a minor in public changing areas.

S.B. 270 by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) and Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) clarifies that an adult commits sexual indecency if the adult enters and remains in a changing area where a child of the opposite sex is present.

It’s a good bill that will help protect children in Arkansas, and Family Council is pleased to be able to work with lawmakers to support this measure.

S.B. 270 now goes to the entire Senate for consideration.

House Committee Passes Measure Protecting Children from Adult Performances

Feb 2, 2023Jerry CoxDecency, LegislatureArkansas Legislature, Decency, Drag Queen Story Time, Transgender

On Wednesday the House City, County, and Local Affairs Committee passed a measure to protect children from adult performances.

S.B. 43 by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits adult-oriented performances on public property, with public funding, or in view of minors.

The bill defines “adult-oriented performance” as a sexual performance that includes nudity, sexual activities, or exposure of specific body parts. The bill also contains language about exposure of prosthetic private parts to protect children from explicit drag performances.

S.B. 43 previously prohibited drag performances on public property or in view of children. It was amended in the House committee on Wednesday to apply more broadly to sexual performances and to prohibit public funding of those performances.

The bill will go to the Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote next week. If passed, it will go back to the Arkansas Senate for a vote as well.

You Can Read S.B. 43 Here.

Senate Passes Bill Requiring Porn Sites to Verify Users are 18+

Feb 2, 2023Jerry CoxDecency, LegislationArkansas Legislature, Decency, Pornography

On Wednesday the Arkansas Senate passed a measure requiring pornographic websites to verify that users are 18 or older.

S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to use a digital ID, government-issued ID, or another commercially available age verification process to protect children from pornography.

The measure — which is similar to a law Louisiana recently enacted — passed without any opposition in the Arkansas Senate.

Under this bill, pornographic websites would rely on an ID like an Arkansas driver’s licenses or a third-party ID-verification system to prevent minors from accessing pornographic material online.

Websites that violate S.B. 66 would be held liable under the law.

Pornography is believed to contribute to mental health problems, and in the past 30 years it has become available at unprecedented levels as a result of technology.

S.B. 66 helps address this problem in Arkansas.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas House of Representatives.