Ahead of ban, bias ordinance pushed in LR

Kathy Webb 
Ward 3 Candidate
via email
Kathy Webb Ward 3 Candidate via email

Correction: Arkansas law protects people from discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, gender and disability. This story incorrectly reported the state’s protected classes.

Little Rock City Director Kathy Webb wants the city board to adopt an ordinance that makes discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal before a state law that prevents localities from doing so goes into effect later this year.

Senate Bill 202 -- which has passed through both state chambers -- bans cities and counties from passing anti-discrimination legislation that adds a protected class that isn't included in state law.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he will neither sign nor veto the bill, which would let it become law and take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends, likely sometime this summer. A grass-roots effort is underway to get Hutchinson to veto the bill before the five-day deadline ends Monday.

"I think that the bill is just very much of an overreach, for one thing," Webb said Tuesday. "I think there are a lot of unintended consequences in addition to the fact that it is obviously, in my opinion, a bad bill."

Webb doesn't have a set time frame for presenting a draft ordinance to the Little Rock board for discussion, but said she wants to work with other city directors on what may need to be included. Several board members questioned Tuesday whether a local ordinance is necessary.

Webb and other opponents of Senate Bill 202 say the measure wrongly takes away local control and that it protects discrimination against gays and other groups.

The bill's sponsors -- Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, and Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs -- said any decision to create an additional protected class should be done at the state level to keep uniformity throughout Arkansas. Currently, the state's protected classes are race, religion, national origin, disability, age and gender.

Hester and Ballinger proposed the legislation after the Fayetteville City Council passed an ordinance in August that added sexual orientation as a protected class and also set up enforcement procedures and staff to investigate complaints. That ordinance was highly debated and voters repealed it in December.

Those against Fayetteville's ordinance said it would have, for example, forced a Christian baker to act against his religion by making him bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Proponents of adding additional protected classes contend that someone can now legally be denied service in a restaurant because of their sexual orientation.

A New York resident started a change.org petition asking Hutchinson to veto Senate Bill 202. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 3,600 supporters. A website -- www.vetosb202.com -- has also been set up. On the website, the gay brother of state Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, criticized Collins for his support of the bill. The brothers also have a lesbian sister.

The Human Rights Campaign Arkansas also issued a statement Tuesday asking Hutchinson to veto the bill.

In a statement before the petition started, Hutchinson said he won't use his veto power and that he isn't signing the bill because he's concerned about the loss of local control on the matter.

"The governor's position has not changed. He will allow the bill to go into law without his signature," the governor's spokesman J.R. Davis said Tuesday.

Webb said the issue is personal to her because she is lesbian and has faced discrimination.

"Don't I, and our other LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] neighbors, family members, co-workers and friends deserve the same protections others have? This bill ensures that we will not have them. It's flat-out wrong," she wrote on Facebook earlier this month when the bill passed through committee.

The majority of Little Rock board members reached Tuesday said they hadn't yet heard about Webb's planned ordinance and didn't know if it was necessary, but were open to hearing her out.

At-large City Director Joan Adcock said the city should wait to see how the state deals with the issue. Vice Mayor and Ward 5 City Director Lance Hines said he doesn't think it's necessary for cities to take up anti-discrimination ordinances because state and federal laws already cover the issue.

Ward 6 City Director Doris Wright said she wasn't aware Little Rock had a problem with discrimination against gays, but that she's curious to hear from Webb about why she feels a local ordinance is necessary.

At-large Director Dean Kumpuris said he would have to think about it and listen to the discussion before forming an opinion.

At-large City Director Gene Fortson said he would be in support of a general statement expressing the city's strong anti-discrimination policy, but that he doesn't think Little Rock needs anything like the Fayetteville ordinance, which he called overreaching with its enforcement measures.

Webb also said there were some faults in the Fayetteville ordinance and that she has more researching to do before drafting a Little Rock proposal.

The other four board members didn't return a voice message Tuesday. The night's city board meeting was canceled because of inclement weather.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola also didn't return phone calls. He hasn't commented publicly on the discrimination discussion, but has said he is against Senate Bill 202 because it takes away local control.

Eureka Springs passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation days before the Arkansas House approved Ballinger's bill.

Once the bill becomes law, however, it will bar any city from enforcing any protection class that isn't listed in state law.

So even if the Little Rock Board of Directors does adopt an ordinance, the city would not be allowed to enforce it after a few months.

"I think for a lot of reasons it's important for Little Rock to go still ahead and do that to show we are a welcoming community. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if other places had discussions as well," Webb said.

Across the river in North Little Rock, artist V.L. Cox started an online petition on change.org that had 215 signatures by Tuesday afternoon asking Mayor Joe Smith to encourage the North Little Rock City Council to adopt an anti-discrimination ordinance. In her petition, she contends that other groups such as students, veterans, the homeless and poor can also be discriminated against under current state law.

In response to the petition, Smith said citizens should contact their state representatives about their concern and that the matter of Senate Bill 202 will "undoubtedly be decided before the courts."

"North Little Rock has always been viewed as an accepting community. No city officials have brought up any issues that would show the necessity for such legislation that would codify an attitude that already exists within the community," Smith said through a spokesman.

Information for this article was contributed by Claudia Lauer of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Metro on 02/18/2015

Upcoming Events