Tony Perkins, president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has praised an
Arkansas bill which seeks to outlaw municipalities from adopting
ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations.
The bill (SB202) has cleared both the
House and Senate.
Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson has
said he'll let the bill become law without signing it.
“I recognize the desire to prevent
burdensome regulations on businesses across the state,” he said in
a statement to BuzzFeed
News. “However, I am concerned about the loss of local
control. For that reason, I am allowing the bill to become law
without my signature.”
In praising the action, Perkins said
that LGBT protections “trample freedom and drive away business.”
“The measures have become a privacy
and safety nightmare for parents, who shudder to think of their
daughters sharing public restrooms, showers and locker rooms with
grown men who abuse the 'gender identity' language to prey on the
opposite sex,” he added.
In calling for a “no” vote, state
Rep. Clarke Tucker, a Democrat, described the bill as a “proactive
act of discrimination.”
The bill was a response to approval of
such an ordinance by Fayetteville city leaders. Voters there
rejected the measure in December.
(Related: Fayetteville
voters repeal LGBT protections ordinance.)