Setting the Record Straight on Religious Freedom Bill HB1228

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Yesterday, retail giant Walmart issued a statement against HB1228, the Conscience Protection Act by Rep. Ballinger and Sen. Hester. A Walmart spokesman said the legislation runs counter to Walmart’s “core basic belief of respect for the individual” and that the legislation “sends the wrong message about Arkansas.”

This morning the bill narrowly failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it can be brought back up for another vote. It is essential that your senator hears from you. Your senator must know you support this bill. Please call your Arkansas Senator at (501) 682-2902, and ask him or her to support House Bill 1228, the Conscience Protection Act by Rep. Ballinger and Sen. Hester.

You can also call Governor Hutchinson’s office at (501) 682-2345, and ask him to support the bill.

Our lawmakers are hearing a lot of misinformation about this bill. Besides Walmart, the Association of Counties, the Municipal League, and others have made incorrect assertions about what the Conscience Protection Act does.

We want to set the record straight. Here are three facts about the bill:

Fact #1: HB1228 is almost identical to religious freedom legislation passed in 20 states. Alabamans even went so far as to write the language into their state constitution in 1998. Additionally, most states that do not have a religious freedom protection law on the books have a court ruling of some sort protecting religious freedom. Arkansas is one of only 11 states without a state law or court ruling affirming the free exercise of religion.

Fact #2: Laws like HB1228 trigger very few lawsuits. From 1993 to 2014, 20 states passed laws similar to HB1228. According to attorneys we have spoken with, only 146 lawsuits have been filed citing these religious freedom laws, nationwide. That’s 146 cases, nationwide, over the course of 22 years. Of those cases, the vast majority of the religious freedom claims were dismissed in court. Religious freedom laws have not led to a flood of litigation anywhere else. There is no reason to think Arkansas will be any different.

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Religious Freedom Bill Passes Committee, Heads to Entire House

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HB1228, the Conscience Protection Act by Rep. Bob Ballinger, passed the House Judiciary Committee today.

This bill restores religious liberties that have eroded over the past 25 years. Most states in America have a state law, constitutional amendment, or court ruling protecting religious liberty similarly to HB1228. Arkansas is one of only a handful of states that has not affirmed the free exercise of religion.

The bill will be voted on by the entire Arkansas House of Representatives as early as tomorrow. Please call your state representative, and ask him or her to vote for HB1228, the Conscience Protection Act by Rep. Ballinger.

You can leave a message for your representative at (501) 682-6211.

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Atheists’ Billboard Encourages Arkansans to “Skip Church”

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According to 40/29 News, the group American Atheists has placed a billboard along I-49 near Springdale that reads, “Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is to…SKIP CHURCH! I’m too old for fairy tales.”

According to a press release from American Atheists, the billboard is part of a campaign to promote atheism in the South ahead of the group’s convention in Memphis this spring.

This billboard is the latest in what seems to be an anti-Christmas tradition with some atheist groups any more.

In 2008 the Freedom From Religion Foundation placed a billboard in downtown Little Rock that read “Beware of Dogma.”

Last year atheists in Florida hung a banner depicting a few Founding Fathers gathered around a manger holding a copy of the Bill of Rights. They also placed signs alongside Christmas decorations in some state capitols claiming there are no gods, no Heaven, and no Hell.

Different groups have gone after everything from simple Nativity scenes in front of courthouses to Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. And then, of course, there is the shrine to paganism and nature-worship local atheists have placed on the Arkansas Capitol lawn every December since 2009.

This newest billboard raises a lot of questions. The big one I have, frankly, is what’s wrong with people celebrating Christmas? Christmas in this country has always been a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. If people want to go to church as part of that celebration, what’s wrong with that?

Photo obtained from 40/29 News website here.

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