On Thursday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a good measure protecting religious liberty.
H.B. 1615 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) would ensure that religious organizations and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions.
Time and again, wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, florist shops, and others have been targeted by public officials and dragged into court simply because their owners wanted to operate according to their deeply held convictions.
H.B. 1615 will help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.
As we have written before, Arkansas has passed some of the best religious freedom protections in the country over the years. In 2015, the state enacted its Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And lawmakers passed good bills in 2023 to strengthen that law.
H.B. 1615 helps further improve Arkansas’ laws protecting the free exercise of religion.
The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.
The Following Representatives Voted For H.B. 1615
- Andrews
- Beaty Jr.
- Beck
- Bentley
- S. Berry
- Breaux
- A. Brown
- K. Brown
- M. Brown
- N. Burkes
- R. Burkes
- Joey Carr
- John Carr
- Cavenaugh
- Childress
- C. Cooper
- Cozart
- Crawford
- Dalby
- Duffield
- Duke
- Furman
- Gazaway
- Gramlich
- Holcomb
- Hollowell
- Jean
- L. Johnson
- Ladyman
- Long
- Lundstrum
- Lynch
- Maddox
- J. Mayberry
- McAlindon
- McClure
- McCollum
- M. McElroy
- McGrew
- B. McKenzie
- McNair
- S. Meeks
- J. Moore
- K. Moore
- Nazarenko
- Painter
- Pearce
- Pilkington
- Puryear
- Ray
- Richmond
- Rose
- Rye
- Schulz
- R. Scott Richardson
- M. Shepherd
- Steimel
- Torres
- Tosh
- Underwood
- Unger
- Walker
- Wing
- Wooldridge
- Wooten
- Speaker Evans
The Following Representatives Voted Against H.B. 1615
- F. Allen
- Barnett
- Clowney
- A. Collins
- Ennett
- D. Garner
- Gonzales
- Hudson
- Magie
- McCullough
- McGruder
- J. Richardson
- T. Shephard
- Springer
- Steele
- Wardlaw
- Gonzales Worthen
The Following Representatives Voted “Present”
- Brooks
- Eaton
- Eaves
- Eubanks
- Hall
- Hawk
- Womack
The Following Representatives Did Not Vote
- Achor
- Barker
- Barnes
- K. Ferguson
- Henley
- Milligan
- Perry
- Vaught
- Warren
- D. Whitaker
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
