Fayetteville Voters Repeal Contentious Ordinance

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Yesterday Fayetteville citizens repealed the city’s controversial “nondiscrimination” ordinance by a vote of 52% to 48%, according to KFSM News.

The Fayetteville City Council passed the ordinance last summer in spite of widespread opposition to the measure. Local residents launched a campaign to repeal the ordinance following its passage. Last night, those efforts proved successful.

Duncan Campbell, who helped lead the effort to repeal the ordinance, told reporters,

“We wanted to repeal the ordinance because we didn’t believe it made Fayetteville a fairer city or a freer city. It did just the opposite. It was called the Civil Rights Ordinance, but it was misnamed. It was an ordinance that actually took away civil rights and freedom from people. It criminalized civil behavior. It didn’t accomplish the stated purpose of the ordinance and it was crafted by an outside group, it wasn’t something Fayetteville residents put together.”

The Washington, D.C., based Human Rights Campaign contributed more than $160,000 to keep the ordinance on the books.

Opponents of the Fayetteville ordinance included the local Chamber of Commerce; local ministers and churches; Fayetteville businesses; the editorial staff at Northwest Arkansas Media; area lawmakers; and–clearly–thousands of Fayetteville voters.

We have written repeatedly about the unintended consequences of the ordinance, and I applaud Fayetteville voters for choosing to repeal it.

If you would like to read some of the unintended consequences we found in the ordinance, click 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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Group Spends Six Figures Supporting Fayetteville Ordinance

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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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Family Council Opposes Governor’s Intent to Pardon Sex Offender

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 10, 2014

Little Rock – Last week Governor Mike Beebe announced he intends to pardon 25 people convicted of various crimes, including Michael E. Jackson, a Level 2 sex offender convicted of internet stalking of a child in Faulkner County in 2008.

On Monday, Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is a troubling move by the governor. The county prosecutor and sheriff both have objected to this pardon. By ignoring their objections, the governor is basically saying he knows better than they do. That ought to give everyone a reason to pause.”

Cox said he is worried that the pardon could put children and families at risk. “In his application for the pardon, Mr. Jackson says he would like the opportunity to work with youth in the community. Mr. Jackson is already out of jail, and he is living as a registered sex offender. This pardon would effectively pave the way for him to be around children or families without anyone realizing he has a history as a sex offender. Part of the reason we have the sex offender registry is to prevent that very situation from happening.”

Public comments on the pardon will be accepted for thirty days before a final decision is made. Family Council is encouraging Arkansans to contact the Governor’s Office in Little Rock at 501-682-2345 and ask Governor Beebe to decline to pardon Michael E. Jackson.

“A pardon by the governor could put children and families in the community at risk,” Cox said. “That’s something none of us wants to see happen.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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