A.G. Rejects Another Recreational Marijuana Proposal

Marijuana

Last week Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office rejected yet another proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.

The proposal would have made it legal for anyone 18 or older to grow, sell, or use marijuana. The A.G.’s office rejected the measure due to ambiguities in its text.

By our count, this is the tenth attempt to legalize recreational marijuana since May of this year.

So-called “medical marijuana” is just a stepping stone. The endgame for marijuana’s supporters is — and always has been — full legalization.

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

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Federal Court Leaves Arkansas Pro-Life Law Alone

Abortion, , ,

Today the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals announced it will not reconsider a pro-life ruling issued last July.

In 2015 the Arkansas Legislature passed the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act sponsored by Rep. Charlene Fite (R – Van Buren). The law requires clinics performing chemical abortions to maintain a contract with a doctor who has admitting privileges at a hospital. A federal judge blocked the law last year.

In July a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit of Appeals reversed that judge’s order. The panel’s decision was appealed to the entire Eighth Circuit. Today the Eighth Circuit announced it would not reconsider the case, meaning the panel’s decision from July still stands.

This is a pro-life victory. The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act is a good law that ought to be enforced. The Arkansas Legislature passed it with strong support, and Attorney General Rutledge’s office has defended it in court since Day One. We look forward to other good decisions like this one in the future.

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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The Passing of Betsy Hagan, a Gracious Warrior

Current Events

My friend Betsy Hagan of Little Rock recently passed away.

Betsy was one of the kindest and most gracious warriors I have ever known. Beginning in 1977, she and other Arkansas ladies working with Phyllis Schlafly’s nationally powerful Eagle Forum were a force to be reckoned with at the State Capitol.

After stopping Arkansas’ ratification of the federal Equal Rights Amendment, she and the Arkansas group known as F.L.A.G. (Family Life America and God) mobilized Christians statewide to fight the liberal legislative agenda.

Betsy won time after time not because she was stronger, but because she cared more deeply. She was the best kind of lobbyist. Not only was she a gracious, Christian lady who lobbied that way, but she was never paid a dime for any of her work. She spent thousands of hours at the Capitol fighting the good fight for free, because she knew she was in the right.

When she knew she was in the right, there was no stopping her. She was a warrior. For her it was a calling — a calling from God — a destiny that she faithfully fulfilled until the end of her physical strength.

When some people leave, their shoes are soon filled. Others are simply irreplaceable. Betsy Hagan was one of a kind. When I look at her legacy, and I see the empty shoes she leaves behind, I doubt that anyone else can ever take her place.

Jerry Cox; September 27, 2017

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