Articles and Videos – Page 213

House Committee Defeats Effort to Weaken State Abortion Laws

Mar 30, 2023Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee defeated a bad bill that would have added exceptions to Arkansas’ abortion laws.

H.B. 1670 by Rep. Ashley Hudson (D – Little Rock) would weaken Arkansas’ pro-life laws by creating an exception for abortion in cases of incest.

As we have said many times, rape and incest are evil, and any woman who is a victim of rape or incest is a victim in every sense of the word.

However, legislation like H.B. 1670 fails to acknowledge that the unborn child is totally innocent.

An unborn boy or girl has no control over how he or she was conceived. These are living human beings. It is not right to kill an unborn baby because the baby’s father was a rapist or committed incest.

We are thankful to the House Judiciary Committee members who voted against this bad bill.

Committee Passes Good Bill Prohibiting Delta-8 THC in Arkansas

Mar 30, 2023Jerry CoxLegislation, MarijuanaArkansas Legislature, Delta-8, Marijuana

On Thursday the House Rules Committee passed a good bill prohibiting Delta-8 THC in Arkansas.

S.B. 358 is a good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) that prevents Delta-8 THC from being manufactured via industrial hemp in Arkansas.

The bill would place Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10 THC, and other psychoactive drugs made from industrial hemp on the list of controlled substances in state law.

S.B. 358 also contains language enacting drug restrictions that would take effect if a state or federal court someday blocked Arkansas from prohibiting Delta-8 altogether.

Delta-8 THC is a mind-altering substance made from cannabis, and Arkansas law does not adequately prohibit it.

S.B. 358 is a good bill that will clarify Arkansas’ drug laws and helps provide protections against dangerous marijuana products.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for consideration.

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

Arkansas Legislature Passes Bill Protecting Children From Pornographic Websites

Mar 30, 2023Jerry CoxLegislationArkansas Legislature, Child Welfare, Obscenity, Pornography

On Wednesday the Arkansas Legislature officially passed a bill that will help protect children from Internet pornography.

S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to ensure their users are age 18 or older.

The bill previously passed in the Arkansas Senate, and was slightly amended before passing in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, the Arkansas Senate voted to concur in the changes the House made.

S.B. 66 now goes to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to be signed into law.

Going forward, this good law will require porn sites to take important steps to prevent minors from accessing pornographic material online.

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

Other states have considered legislation very similar to S.B. 66.

Technology has given children unprecedented access to pornography. Among other things, pornography is believed to contribute to mental health problems.

S.B. 66 will help address this problem in Arkansas.

Family Council is deeply grateful to Sen. Tyler Dees and Rep. Mindy McAlindon for sponsoring S.B. 66 and to the members of the Arkansas General Assembly for overwhelmingly supporting the passage of this good law.

This may be one of the best laws that the Arkansas Legislature enacts this year, because it’s going to help protect children in the state from harmful content online. That’s something to celebrate.