North Little Rock to Weigh Public Drinking Proposal

The North Little Rock City Council will consider a proposal to permit public drinking in its Argenta District daily from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Act 812 of 2019 by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) lets cities create “entertainment districts” where alcohol can be carried and consumed publicly on streets and sidewalks.

These districts can be permanent or temporary, under Act 812.

Public drinking proposals have cropped up across the state in recent months.

The Fayetteville City Council voted last week to allow public drinking, but city board members in neighboring Siloam Springs recently rejected a public drinking proposal.

As we have said many times, public drinking is a scourge on the community.

It raises serious concerns about drunk driving and public safety.

Public drinking doesn’t attract new businesses or bolster the economy.

It hurts neighborhoods and families.

That’s why Family Council has put together a free toolkit to help citizens oppose these public drinking districts.

Our toolkit contains talking points, information about problems public drinking has caused in other states, photographs of public drinking districts elsewhere around the country, and other resources you can use to fight public drinking in your community.

Click here to download our free toolkit.

Photo Credit: Welcome to North Little Rock, Arkansas by Jimmy Emerson, DVM on Flickr.

Planned Parenthood Endorses More Candidates in Arkansas

On Thursday Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes Arkansas — Planned Parenthood’s political action committee in Arkansas — endorsed five candidates for the state legislature.

The candidates are:

  • Clarke Tucker for Arkansas Senate District 32
  • Suzie Bell for Arkansas House District 97
  • Daisy Bonilla for Arkansas House District 93
  • Rep. Tippi McCullough for Arkansas House District 33
  • Rep. David Whitaker for Arkansas House District 85

Planned Parenthood’s political action committee has been actively fundraising this year, and the organization already has endorsed other candidates for the state legislature.

In May Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed two federal candidates from Arkansas as well.

Last fall Planned Parenthood’s super PAC pledged to spend at least $45 million on the 2020 election, with four main goals:

  • Defeat President Trump
  • Flip the U.S. Senate from Republican to Democrat
  • Maintain Democratic control over the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Support liberal candidates in state races

This Arkansas Law Saved 500 Unborn Children Last Year

A single law Arkansas passed in 2015 saved the lives of an estimated 508 unborn children last year.

Here’s how we know that.

In 2001 Family Council worked with former state Rep. Jim Magnus (R – Little Rock) to pass the Woman’s Right to Know Act.

At the time, the bill was a major step forward, because it required abortionists to offer women vital information before performing an abortion.

In 2015 we worked with Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) to pass a new and improved informed-consent law.

This new law requires abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion up front — including information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives.

Arkansas’ informed-consent law also requires doctors to give women 72 hours to weigh their options before having an abortion, thanks to improvements the legislature made to the law in 2019.

Last year, 3,471 women were given information about abortion under the state’s informed consent law, according to reports from the Arkansas Department of Health.

That means that as many as 3,471 women inquired about abortion in Arkansas last year.

However, there were only 2,963 abortions in the state.

Comparing those two numbers, we estimate that 508 women chose not to have abortions after receiving the information required by the state’s informed-consent law.

All told, we estimate the 2015 Woman’s Right to Know law has saved the lives of 1,759 unborn children.

That’s simply amazing!

Laws like this one are part of the reason that abortion in Arkansas has plummeted to a 43-year low.