Advisory: Be careful of what you read on social media. The algorithms used by these platforms have no regard for Biblical truth. They target your emotions to keep you engaged on their site so their advertisers can drop more ads. These platforms exist to enrich their stockholders. Consider God’s promise to Believers in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Featured Story
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (February 23, 2017) — The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a city’s ordinance banning discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The justices reversed a judge’s decision that Fayetteville’s anti-discrimination ordinance didn’t violate a state law prohibiting cities from enacting protections not covered by state law. Fayetteville, a liberal enclave in northwestern Arkansas, is one of several cities that approved local protections for homosexuals, bisexual and transgender people in response to the 2015 law.
Arkansas’ civil rights law doesn’t cover sexual orientation or gender identity. In the unanimous ruling, the justices rejected the argument that Fayetteville and other cities that have enacted such ordinances have made that the protections are covered elsewhere in state law.
The court ruled that these other laws, included an anti-bullying law, aren’t related to anti-discrimination laws and don’t create new protected classes. They noted that the 2015 law states its intent to have uniform anti-discrimination measures in the state.
“(Fayetteville’s ordinance) violates the plain wording of Act 137 by extending discrimination laws in the city of Fayetteville to include two classifications not previously included under state law,” the court said. “This necessarily creates a nonuniform nondiscrimination law and obligation in the city of Fayetteville that does not exist under state law.”
The justices said they couldn’t rule on the law’s constitutionality since it wasn’t addressed by the lower court and they sent the case back to the Washington County judge who upheld Fayetteville’s ordinance. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, whose office had asked the court to uphold the state law, said she was grateful for the court’s ruling.
Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams said he disagreed with the court’s ruling and will now focus on challenging the law’s constitutionality in the lower court.
“They can’t, by not using express terms, accomplish the same result which is truly what their intent was, which was to prevent the city from enacting protections for its gay and lesbian residents,” Williams said, referring to the Legislature’s passage of the 2015 law.
Eureka Springs, a mountain resort town known as a gay-friendly tourist destination, also approved broad anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people in 2015. More limited measures covering only government agencies and contractors were enacted in the state capital, Little Rock, the surrounding county and in Hot Springs.
Arkansas is one of three states that ban local LGBT protections. Tennessee has a similar ban, and the prohibition is also part of North Carolina’s controversial law restricting which bathrooms transgender people can use. A state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Tennessee’s ban in 2014. North Carolina’s law, which prompted widespread boycotts of the state, is being challenged in federal court.
OneNewsNow.com
“All Original Content Copyright ©2017 hnewswire.com All Rights Reserved
Tagged In
Newsletter
Must Read
Other Sources
Latest News
Christians Warn Upcoming ‘Shack’ Movie Depicting God as Woman Could ‘Far Outweigh’ Harm of Novel dangerous and false image of God and idolatry
Christian News Christian leaders who have issued warnings about William P. Young’s bestselling novel “The Shack,” which portrays God as a woman and espouses universalistic…
Read MoreChristians Warn Upcoming ‘Shack’ Movie Depicting God as Woman Could ‘Far Outweigh’ Harm of Novel dangerous and false image of God and idolatry
Christian News Christian leaders who have issued warnings about William P. Young’s bestselling novel “The Shack,” which portrays God as a woman and espouses universalistic…
Read MoreLatest: Trump aide talks strategy for repealing Obamacare
WASHINGTON (January 8, 2017) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST): 11:20 a.m. A top aide to Donald Trump says it’d be…
Read MoreIsrael police: Palestinian truck attack kills 4 in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (January 8, 2017) — A Palestinian rammed his truck into a group of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem on Sunday, killing four soldiers and wounding…
Read MoreA Hollywood wary of Trump readies for 74th Golden Globes
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (January 8, 2017) — Awards are set to be presented at Sunday night’s Golden Globes, where speeches about Donald Trump and wins for…
Read MoreWe make every effort to acknowledge sources used in our news articles. In a few cases, the sources were lost due to a technological glitch. If you believe we have not given sufficient credit for your source material, please contact us, and we will be more than happy to link to your article.