Fayetteville Residents to Rally for Religious Freedom Next Week

Religious Freedom, , , ,

On Tuesday, August 11, residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas, will rally in support of religious freedom and in opposition to the city’s proposed “nondiscrimination” act, Ordinance 5781.

The rally will take place on Tuesday, August 11, at 7:00 PM at University Baptist Church at 333 W Maple St. in Fayetteville.

Featured speakers include Aaron & Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes in Oregon. You may recall the Kleins were fined $135,000 and ultimately had to close their business–all because they declined to bake a cake for a same-sex ceremony.

On Tuesday, September 8, voters in Fayetteville will be asked to vote for or against Ordinance 5781, a “nondiscrimination” act very similar to the one voters overturned last December. Early voting begins September 1.

The group Protect Fayetteville, who is sponsoring the rally, is calling on voters to vote against Ordinance 5781 next month.

Ordinance 5781 carries many of the same unintended consequences as the ordinance proposed last year:

  • It fails to protect religious liberty;
  • It inadvertently allows men to use women’s restrooms, showers, locker rooms, and changing facilities–and vice versa;
  • It forces business owners–like the Kleins–who want to operate their businesses in accordance with their deeply-held religious convictions to choose between obeying the law and obeying their conscience.

You can find out more about the ordinance and the September 8 election at www.protectfayetteville.com. You can download a flyer about next week’s rally here.

Photo Credit: “Old Main from the northwest, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas (autumn)” by Brandonrush – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

READ MORE

Fayetteville City Council Forces “Nondiscrimination” Ordinance in Single Meeting

Homosexuality, , , ,

Taking a page from the Eureka Springs City Council’s book, the Fayetteville City Council voted last night to suspend the rules and run a so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance through in a single meeting.

City ordinances typically are read and discussed over the course of at least three meetings to give citizens and council members ample time for review and debate; suspending the rules and running an ordinance in a single meeting is a way governing bodies can quickly pass noncontroversial measures or address emergency situations.

However, the Fayetteville ordinance is anything but noncontroversial, and proponents of the ordinance have failed to demonstrate that the ordinance is even necessary, let alone that it somehow addresses an emergency.

Here is a breakdown of the ordinance passed in Fayetteville last night:

Is This Ordinance Different From Those Passed in Other Cities in Arkansas?

(more…)

READ MORE

Eureka Springs Calls Election on Ordinance

Current Events, , , ,

News media are reporting the Eureka Springs City Council will hold a special election this May to let voters decide whether to keep the city’s controversial “nondiscrimination” ordinance hastily passed earlier this month.

According to reporters, this move preempts the petition process underway in Eureka Springs to repeal the ordinance, and it will give the city council control over the wording of the ballot.

The Conway City Council passed an ordinance earlier this week addressing city employment policies based on sexual-orientation and gender-identity.

Many argue these ordinances will be nullified when Act 137 (formerly known as Senate Bill 202) takes effect later this year.

READ MORE