Legislature Begins Looking at Two Key Bills During the Interim

Legislature, , , , ,

This week the Arkansas Legislature moved forward with plans to look at two key pieces of legislation between now and 2019.

The first is S.B. 583 by Senator Joyce Elliott. The legislature will study the feasibility of requiring 25% of lottery proceeds to fund scholarships; reinstating the 2.5 GPA requirement to be eligible for scholarships; and having independent consultants for the Arkansas Lottery.

The second is S.B. 774, the privacy bill by Senator Linda Collins-Smith. This bill would have required a person using a public shower, locker room, restroom, or similar facility on government property to use the facility that corresponds to the biological sex listed on his or her original birth certificate. The legislature will study this issue in the months to come.

Lawmakers cannot pass these bills during the interim study period, but can research these issues, collect testimony, and present recommendations when the Arkansas Legislature reconvenes as a whole.

We are glad lawmakers have agreed to look at these two issues during the interim. The next step is to schedule meetings where experts, members of the public, and others can testify at the Capitol.

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Farmers Punished For Holding Biblical View of Marriage

Religious Freedom, , , ,

A family farm in Michigan is being blocked from their community’s city-run farmer’s market, because the Tennes family who owns the farm happens to hold a biblical view of marriage.

Family Research Council writes,

When two women asked to be married on [Country Mill farm] in 2014, the Tennes turned them down, explaining that because of their faith, they referred same-sex couples to neighboring farms. Two years later, the couple decided to launch a social media smear campaign, urging people to stay away from Country Mill. When their post was brought to East Lansing’s attention, local leaders raced to pass an ordinance directly targeting small business owners like the Tenneses.

Country Mill Farms has participated in the city’s farmer’s market without incident for at least six years. As a result of this new ordinance, the farm was blocked from selling produce at the market this year.

It’s worth noting this is not the first time a family farm has been punished for holding a biblical view of marriage. In 2014 a New York farm was fined $13,000 for declining to host a same-sex wedding ceremony on its property.

No one should be targeted by the government for their religious convictions, but that’s what we are seeing here. Country Mill Farms has teamed up with attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom to take East Lansing to court over its new policy. Hopefully, this new policy will be reversed and religious liberty will be respected.

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Target CEO Admits Bathroom Policy Announcement Was a Mistake

Transgender, , ,

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Target’s CEO does not seem to regret the company’s decision to invite men into the women’s changing areas and restrooms at its stores–but he does regret the fact the policy was so widely publicized.

You may recall last year Target announced on its website that customers and employees at its stores would be able to use the changing areas and restrooms of their choice rather than their biological sex.

Many people expressed public safety concerns about this decision, and more than a million people signed agreements to boycott Target.

Target has suffered financially since. Today, the American Family Association writes, “Target’s stock has lost 35% of its value, and shuttered plans for major expansion projects.”

Now Target’s CEO Brian Cornell admits, “Target didn’t adequately assess the risk [about publicizing the policy], and the ensuing backlash was self-inflicted.”

Of course, Target has not changed its policy as of today, and nearly 1.5 million Americans are still boycotting the retail chain as a result.

You can sign the pledge to boycott Target here.

You can read the Wall Street Journal article here (subscription required).

You can read more about this story here.

 

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