Governor Signs Law Protecting Children From Adult Performances

Legislation,
Above: Sen. Gary Stubblefield presents S.B. 43 in the Arkansas Senate. On Friday the governor signed S.B. 43 into law as Act 131 of 2023.

On Friday Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a good law that will protect children in Arkansas from adult performances.

Act 131 of 2023 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 measure defines “adult-oriented performance” as a sexual performance that includes nudity, sexual activities, or exposure of specific body parts.

The new law also contains language about exposure of prosthetic private parts to protect children from explicit drag performances.

Family Council was pleased to work with Sen. Stubblefield, Rep. Bentley, and our friends in the Arkansas Legislature to support the passage of this law.

We have written repeatedly over the past few years about how public schools, colleges, and libraries in Arkansas have scheduled inappropriate drag performances — including performances intended for children. This measure will help address that problem.

We want to thank every member of the General Assembly who supported this good law, and we want to thank the governor for signing Act 131 into law.

Act 131 will help protect children adult performances, and it will ensure that public property and public tax dollars are not used for these performances.

That’s something to celebrate.

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

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LGB v. T

Transgender,

Many critics of transgender ideology today argue that the “T” in the LGBTQ acronym doesn’t fit with the other letters. J.K. Rowling, for example, who often makes the news for opposing transgender ideology, has argued that it isn’t just pitted against women, it’s also pitted against the same-sex attracted. 

The conflict in the acronym is real. A significant part of the transgender movement is about men taking the place of women and teaching girls that they are born wrong, neither of which sits well with “the L’s.” And many “G’s” believe that many kids who are “born gay” are instead being treated as if they’re trans.  

But the “L,” “G,” and “T” all have one thing in common: fundamentally rejecting the human body. In their view, biological sex and sexual complementarity are accidental—not essential—to who we are.  

In fact, much of our culture is about rejecting the body: abortion, “medical aid in dying,” transhumanism. Part of Christian witness today is that our bodies, though broken, are good gifts from God.  

Copyright 2025 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Arkansas Senate Passes Omnibus Education Bill

Legislation,
Above: The Senate Education Committee passed S.B. 294 on Wednesday afternoon, following some five hours of testimony. The Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure on Thursday.

On Thursday the Arkansas Senate passed Gov. Sanders’ omnibus education bill. The 144-page Arkansas LEARNS Act addresses multiple issues related to education — including public school teacher employment and salaries, critical race theory, sexual material being taught in public school classrooms, and others.

The LEARNS Act also implements a school choice program between 2023 and 2025 that would let students obtain a publicly funded education at private schools or at home.

The bill previously passed in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, following some five hours of testimony and discussion.

Here are three important points to be aware of regarding the LEARNS Act:

First, the bill is moving through the legislature very quickly. Most members of the Arkansas General Assembly are sponsoring or co-sponsoring the bill. There is talk about amending the bill slightly in the Arkansas House, but we fully expect the bill to pass.

Second, when it comes to school choice, the LEARNS Act could provide students in Arkansas with unprecedented access to education. Families would have the option of using state dollars to educate their children at a public or private school or at home.

Third, the LEARNS Act provides the framework for a voluntary school choice program.

It’s going to be up to the State Board of Education and the Arkansas Department of Education to decide how that framework will operate.

The LEARNS Act outlines the school choice program, and it tasks the Department of Education with putting the program into practice.

So while the LEARNS Act is important, the actual debate over school choice in Arkansas will take place at the State Board of Education over the next 18-24 months. The State Board of Education will propose the rules for the school choice program, and lawmakers and the public will then be able to have a say about what the State Board of Education proposes.

To be clear, this law would not change the status of home schoolers or private school students who do not apply for public funds.

As we have said before, we want to work with our friends to help Arkansas families have choices in education without regulating nonpublic school students. We are committed to doing exactly that throughout this legislative process and the rulemaking process that will follow at the State Board of Education.

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