The bills author said the bill was “designed to restrict government’s ability to burden anyone’s religious freedom.” What they really mean is it would allow a religious person the right to hurt others, to be a jerk, to be an asshole to other people. It is a bill to enshrine the right of someone to disregard the rights and equal treatment of those the don’t like. Anytime one of these hate bills come up just replace the LGBTQ+ with the word black, or Jewish, or even white males and see if it still sounds like a good idea. Hugs
latest push in a long-running effort from right-wing policy groups to “vilify people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“They’re trying to elevate so-called ‘religious liberty’ above all other civil rights and claim that someone’s religious belief allows them to dominate the laws, the policies, the practices of the government and the rest of society,” Dickson said.
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Arkansas ACLU Executive Director Holly Dickson testifies at the Capitol.
A bill allowing for discrimination against LGBTQ Arkansans in housing, employment, education and other areas passed out of committee Tuesday and will be heard next by the full Arkansas House of Representatives.
Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R-Springdale), the bill’s lead sponsor and a longtime crusader against LGBTQ rights, said it’s “designed to restrict government’s ability to burden anyone’s religious freedom.”
The bill would “prohibit the government from discriminating against certain individuals and organizations because of their beliefs regarding marriage or what it means to be female or male.”
“It helps protect religious organizations, places of worship, religious schools and religious ministries from government discrimination,” Lundstrum said, adding that it would protect a cake maker or wedding venue or anyone “asked to solemnize a marriage that they do not agree with.”
The bill would shield state government employees from being reprimanded in any way for engaging “in expressive conduct based upon or in a manner consistent with a belief about biological sex or marriage,” both at work and off the clock.
The state would not be able to do anything disciplinary to an employee making homophobic or transphobic social media posts, for example.
The full scope and implications of the bill aren’t clear, but Kaymo O’Connell, a transgender student from Little Rock, told lawmakers this bill clears the way for people to discriminate when making employment decisions.
Other critics of the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, say the bill is poorly written, allows and encourages discrimination against LGBTQ Arkansans and violates multiple federal laws and protections.
Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said the bill is the latest push in a long-running effort from right-wing policy groups to “vilify people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“They’re trying to elevate so-called ‘religious liberty’ above all other civil rights and claim that someone’s religious belief allows them to dominate the laws, the policies, the practices of the government and the rest of society,” Dickson said.
HB1615 is supported by the First Liberty Institute, a national right-wing extremist group, and the Arkansas Justice Institute, the legal branch of local right-wing extremist group the Arkansas Family Council.
Lundstrum was joined by legal representatives from both groups in committee today.
“Whether or not this bill passes it has already harmed Arkansans because, yet again, we are saying some people are worthy and other people are unwelcome,” Dickson said.
Rep. Nicole Clowney (D-Fayetteville), who voted against the bill, noted that it’s a clear case of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
Regardless, the bill passed on a voice vote.
Scottie's Playtime 
This should be easy to reject on the logic.
Push this through and, based on the thumbnail “you’re allowed to discriminate based on orientation”, you stand to be rejected, fired, never hired, and insulted for being a hetero man. It will never be interpreted that way, though, will it.
This is the sort of thing that the Satanic Temple can sink its virtuous fangs into.
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And some people’s religious liberty to feed people, take care of the kids, make sure people have a safe place to sleep, and healthful air and water is never mentioned as protected. Though honestly, so far, these laws have been stopped through either veto or court order (as it happened in KS the times they’ve tried it here.) So, I suppose the religious liberty protection needs to be tested if one of these bills does become law and is allowed to stand. I don’t want to move to Arkansas to do that, though; I can’t drive those steep windy roads.
And I hope we don’t get a chance to test it.
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Hi Ali. No as John Fugelsang says these “Christians” do not follow Christ nor his teachings. I say they follow the OT god of vengeance and hate. Sadly far too many of these bills pass, and in Arkansas I think they easily will. There is far too much bigotry in the US and I have to say most of it driven by fundamentalist Christians who feel they know the correct and only way to feel, live, eat, and enjoy life so they think they have the right to demand others not only agree with them but do as they claim they do. Ali I have never understood the need to demand others live according to my what I enjoy. I am gay but I don’t demand that every one live a homosexual lifestyle. Plus not all gays are the same. We understand everyone enjoys different things, acts, have different feelings. It would like all vegetarians passing laws to stop everyone else from eating meat. As to moving to there, it would be basically a death sentence in a few years for Ron and me. Hugs
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Hi MDavis. The problem with these people I think is they see themselves are the “correct” way to be, feel, live, desire. Anyone different from them is wrong, broken, and needs to be corrected / fixed. They fear diversity and difference. They are sure if they don’t have those feelings then those that do are wrong, evil, must be changed, must be destroyed, must be made illegal. They are that so convinced only how they feel is the correct way to feel. The issue / problem is they feel only what they feel, what they like is valid. It is like if someone liked only vanilla ice cream and insisted everyone else must only like or eat that same vanilla ice cream. I don’t enjoy most vegetables but that doesn’t give me the right to prevent my wonderful husband from eating them. That is what these people don’t seem to understand. Hugs
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All too many of the MAGA legislators wouls instanly say it’s a GREAT idea. Except for the white males. They are obviously the horribly oppressed people in the US!
This is why we have to literally whitewash American History and ban evil DEI.
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Hi Bruce. Sadly yes they would. The right loves to play the victim card. They scream that they got media canceled from every right wing media in the world. They act as if white males are the most abused and denied people in the country. Wow next thing you know they will be hiding from ICE so they don’t get sent to a concentration gulag camp in El Salvador. They imagine soon a white male won’t be able to get hired as they are sure each job they go for was denied to them because of DEI requiring all jobs go first to trans / LGBTQ+ people or black, brown people and even worse it might have been given to a woman. And they are so confident that every white male is superior that the other person getting the job they wanted must be unqualified. Sick mindset these people have. Hugs
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