Group Spends Six Figures Supporting Fayetteville Ordinance

Current Events, , , ,

According to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, the Human Rights Campaign has spent over $160,000 supporting Fayetteville’s controversial “nondiscrimination” ordinance.

The support came in the form of “nonmoney contributions” such as staff, legal assistance, mailings, advertising, website services, and so on to the group Keep Fayetteville Fair. Altogether, HRC has provided $160,080.05 in nonmoney contributions.

From the looks of the report, Human Rights Campaign appears to be footing most of the bill in the campaign to keep Fayetteville’s ordinance on the books. Besides HRC’s nonmoney contributions, the report shows Keep Fayetteville Fair received almost $23,000 in financial contributions from various citizens and groups, including $250 from the Pulaski County Democratic Committee; $200 from State Senator Joyce Elliott; $1,500 from the NWA Center for Equality; $1,000 from the Markham Group; $100 from former Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien; $100 from former Arkansas legislator Will Bond; and $250 from former Arkansas legislator James Argue.

We have written repeatedly about the unintended consequences of Fayetteville’s so-called “nondiscrimination” ordinance. The ordinance is heavily opposed by ministers, the local Chamber of Commerce, various business leaders, and thousands of Fayetteville residents.

The special election to repeal the ordinance will take place Tuesday, December 9; early voting in Fayetteville has already started.

You can read our analysis of the ordinance and its unintended consequences here.

You can see a full copy of Keep Fayetteville Fair’s financial report 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.

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Download Church Bulletin Insert on Fayetteville Ordinance

Homosexuality, , ,

The group working to repeal Fayetteville’s contentious “nondiscrimination” ordinance has released a flyer designed to be included in church bulletins.

The insert identifies some of the problems of the ordinance and highlights the unintended consequences Americans have experienced elsewhere as a result of this type of legislation, writing,

“[In] Fayetteville Chapter 119 dictates the criteria by which churches hire their own staff for ‘secular’ roles. [In] San Antonio the original ordinance would have barred anyone speaking against homosexuality for appointed office. [In] Houston the [supporters of the ordinance] subpoenaed all sermons, emails & text messages of pastors who stood against them.”

This bulletin insert is a good resource for any church or minister wishing to inform people about the “nondiscrimination” ordinance in Fayetteville and the effort to repeal the ordinance on December 9.

Download the Church Bulletin Insert Here

Download Family Council’s Analysis of the Ordinance Here

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Some Las Vegas Chapels Declining to Perform Same-Sex Weddings

Religious Freedom, , ,

According to the LA Times, some wedding chapels in Las Vegas are declining to perform same-sex weddings.

Same-sex marriage became legal by default in Nevada earlier this month, when the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to review a lower court’s ruling that struck the state’s marriage laws. Now some wedding chapel owners are declining to marry same-sex couples due to the owners’ religious convictions about marriage.

This is significant, because Nevada has a “public accommodation” law mandating “full and equal enjoyment” of public services regardless of sexual-orientation. Similar laws have been used against florists, bakers, and photographers who have declined to participate in same-sex weddings in other states. Because of this law, some are alleging that it is actually illegal for a wedding chapel owner in Nevada to turn away a same-sex couple.

We have written before about how these types of “nondiscrimination” laws carry unintended consequences. Proponents say the laws are necessary to prevent someone from being fired or denied service at a restaurant due to sexual-orientation. In reality, however, these so-called “nondiscrimination” statutes are used to force people of faith to participate in same-sex weddings, receptions, and similar ceremonies they find objectionable.

(more…)

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