Arkansas A.G. Continues Defending SAFE Act in Court

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On Friday the Arkansas Attorney General’s office filed a letter further defending the SAFE Act before the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Among other things, the letter addresses equal protection arguments over the SAFE Act. It maintains that the law treats individuals equally and does not discriminate based on sex or gender identity.

In 2021, lawmakers in Arkansas overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act is a good law that prevents doctors in Arkansas from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act has been tied up in court for more than two years. However, federal appeals courts have let similar laws go into effect in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama.

Sex-change surgeries and procedures can leave children sterilized and scarred for life.

Researchers do not know all the long-term effects these procedures can have on children, but a growing body of scientific evidence shows children should not be subjected to sex-change procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

Not long after Arkansas passed the SAFE Act, a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

Since then, the U.K. has done the same, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added a warning label to puberty blockers after discovering they caused some biological girls to experience swelling in the brain.

Over the past three years, reports from Europe and elsewhere have shown time and again that Arkansas was right to pass the SAFE Act.

Today about half the states in the U.S. have passed laws protecting children from sex-change surgeries.

We believe our courts ultimately will recognize that the SAFE Act is a good law and uphold it as constitutional.

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

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Target Quietly Reducing Pride-Themed Merchandise After 2023 Backlash

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News outlets report retail giant Target will reduce the amount of LGBT pride-themed merchandise in its stores during Pride Month in June.

Last May, Target experienced significant backlash and declining sales after displaying transgender products in its stores, prompting Target to hold “emergency” meetings to figure out how to undo the damage.

In particular, last year Target made a point to market LGBT-themed onesies and rompers for newborn babies as well as other kids clothing.

Even though Target may be adjusting how its “pride” themed products are marketed in-store, the company continues to support radical, pro-LGBT efforts and organizations.

In a statement released last Thursday, Target said,

At Target, we know our business thrives when we create experiences that foster a sense of belonging. That’s why we support and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round.

A few ways we’re celebrating during Pride Month and throughout the year:

  • Our Pride+ Business Council will host internal events and experiences where interested team members can learn, reflect, celebrate and connect. It’s complemented by the year-round resources and benefits we provide to our LGBTQIA+ team members, reflecting our culture of care for all 400,000 people who work at Target.
  • We’re joining local Pride events in our hometown of Minneapolis and around the country.
  • We’re offering a collection of products including adult apparel and home and food and beverage items, curated based on consumer feedback. The collection will be available on Target.com and in select stores, based on historical sales performance.
  • We continue to support LGBTQIA+ organizations year-round, including Human Rights Campaign, Family Equality and more.
  • Target also spotlights LGBTQ-owned brands in our assortment during Pride Month and throughout the year in our stores and online.

It’s troubling to see multimillion dollar corporations use their wealth and influence to promote radical LGBT ideologies.

The recent backlash companies like Target, Disney, Anheuser-Busch, and others have received shows Americans are tired of corporate, pro-LGBT pandering.

Ironically, when companies face the sort of pushback Target did last year, they tend to blame the customers for being “transphobic” rather than take responsibility for their business decisions.

All of that ought to show how out-of-step these corporations are with everyday Americans.

Photo Credit: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Missouri Passes Pro-Life Law Barring Taxpayer Funds From Going to Abortionists and Their Affiliates

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On Friday Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed a law preventing taxpayer funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

Missouri already prevents public funds from directly paying for abortions. The new law helps further ensure that Missouri’s taxpayer dollars don’t indirectly subsidize abortion and abortionists.

The law is similar to measures Arkansas has passed over the years to prevent state funds and government contracts from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

Groups like Planned Parenthood divide their organization into regional and national affiliates. That can make it difficult to know if taxpayer funds given to one affiliate directly or indirectly subsidize abortion at another affiliate. This type of legislation helps address that problem by clarifying that abortionists’ affiliates cannot receive taxpayer funds at all.

As states like Arkansas and Missouri take steps to prohibit abortion and provide support for women and families with unplanned pregnancies, it’s important to make sure taxpayer dollars do not promote abortion.

Right now an amendment effort is underway that threatens to nullify all of Arkansas pro-life laws — including Arkansas’ laws against taxpayer-funded abortion.

Arkansans for Limited Government is collecting petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

If passed, the amendment would write abortion into the state constitution, allowing thousands of elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment. That jeopardizes even the most basic restrictions on abortion.

The amendment also would pave the way for taxpayer-funded abortion in Arkansas by changing Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution that currently prohibits taxpayer funded abortion in the state.

Arkansans have generally opposed taxpayer-funded abortion, but taxpayer-funded abortion through all nine months of pregnancy could become a reality in Arkansas if the abortion amendment passes.

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

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