GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson doesn't really care about discrimination much–just making sure that he has a political future.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson
is ready to let a bill become law that will prohibit local jurisdictions in the state from enacting nondiscrimination protections for groups not already protected by state law. Supporters of the bill say it will provide "uniformity" to the business community, but
everyone knows it's a craven effort to keep LGBT citizens vulnerable to targeted attacks on their lives and their livelihoods.
But the implications of the bill's enactment are even greater than the tragic consequences it will have for Arkansas residents. The real question now is whether the Arkansas effort will become a template the right uses for other bills. A similar bill, for instance, is pending in Texas, while Tennessee passed one in 2011.
The Arkansas bill came to us courtesy of Arkansas State Sen. Bart Hester.
“What we need to do in the state of Arkansas is create a uniform and standardized process for any business to come in,” Hester said.
In an act of total
political cowardice, Gov. Hutchinson will let the bill become law at the stroke of midnight tonight. His spokesperson said Monday that the governor's position "will not change" and here's his
original explanation:
“I recognize the desire to prevent burdensome regulations on businesses across the state. However, I am concerned about the loss of local control. For that reason, I am allowing the bill to become law without my signature.”
Michelangelo Signorile at Huffington Post
has written the most lucid critiques of what this effort means for the LGBT community, comparing it to the right's slow chipping away at
Roe v. Wade through "partial birth abortion" bans. More than 30 states in the '90s passed such bans before they were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2000. In 2003, Congress passed its own Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban that was later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007.
Please head below the fold for more insights from Signorile.
Signorile skewered the national LGBT group, the Human Rights Campaign, for being silent on the bill.
No matter if you lose, you must always show the opposition you will put up a nasty fight. Instead, HRC's [Fred] Sainz and its President Chad Griffin, who hails from Arkansas and has thought nothing of rushing back for a photo op when local activists have had wins in the past, have said absolutely nothing about it. Nor have they clearly put the pressure on business leaders like Walmart, headquartered in Arkansas, and which likes its 90% HRC Corporate Equality Index score, to speak out. And we haven't seen any comment from Bill Clinton, for whom Griffin used to work in the White House, or Hillary Clinton, for whom Griffin will raise millions of dollars in a presumed presidential race, as he did for Obama. This, despite grass roots activists like Scott Wooledge and others calling out HRC and doing the work HRC should be doing.
On Friday, HRC president Chad Griffin
finally responded to the call, issuing a response to a local editorial in the
Arkansas Times.
I’m proud to call Arkansas my home state—the place where my entire extended family has lived for years. I know these bills do not reflect the Arkansas values. They certainly do not reflect this state’s commitment to growing a 21st Century economy that attracts good paying jobs—and to guaranteeing a business climate that welcomes everyone who is willing to work hard and build a better future for themselves and for their community. These kinds of political attacks have been rejected by Republicans and Democrats all across this country. Let’s not let Arkansas be dragged backward by an unrepresentative minority.
We can and must stop these sorts of bills before it’s too late—the consequences to this state’s economy and reputation will be grave.