Genius Of The Day: Ark. GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson - Won't Sign Hate Bill – Changes Must Be Made To Mirror Fed Law

It’s not often that I have good things to say about GOP politicians but today I have to give a tip of the hat to Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. This is no April Fool’s joke either.

At a press conference just this morning, Hutchinson said he would not sign the bill before him because the "Bill that is on my desk at the present time does not precisely mirror the federal law." 

Gov. Hutchinson is absolutely correct and even the GOP leader of the Senate in Arkansas now agrees that the law has additional language that facilitates discrimination against LGBT citizens.  It is virtually the same wording as the bill signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.  At his train wreck press conference Pence continued to insist that “Indiana has passed a law here that mirrors the federal law that President Clinton signed”.  Pence is either entirely clueless about what he signed or he’s lying. Maybe both.

Walmart whose head offices are in Ark. urged Hutchinson to veto hate bill

Pence has a “truthiness” problem – big time!!  His Indiana hate law has language that is not contained in the federal RFRA. For starters, the Indiana law defines a "person" as including "a limited liability company, a corporation, a company, a firm, a society, a joint-stock company," effectively granting companies a right to religious exercise.  No such language about corporations exists in the federal RFRA.  This language is controversial because it allows a person or corporation to cite religion in a private lawsuit.  Surely, Gov. Pence knows that, doesn’t he?

Why did Gov. Pence invite so many anti-gay bigots to hate law signing?

But, enough about Pence and his doomed mission to roll back time to the 1950’s. All he has to do is what Gov. Asa Hutchinson did this morning and that’s demand that his Indiana “right to discriminate” law be changed to accurately mirror the Federal law that’s been on the books for over 20 years.  Congrats of Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson for making the right decision for not only himself but his state and for the USA.

On a personal note, Gov. Hutchinson added "my son Seth signed the petition asking me to veto the bill."  Congrats to Seth too and to his Dad for listening.

Thanks for visiting!

FOOTNOTE:  Indiana Pizza Shop Won’t Serve Gays – Cites New Hate Law

At his press conference, Gov. Mike Pence went on and on about how his state's new law wasn't actually a license to discriminate and how "I believe in my heart of hearts that no one should be harassed or mistreated because of who they are, who they love, or what they believe. And I believe every Hoosier shares that conviction."   Well, not all Hoosiers, Gov. Pence.  It didn’t take long for the religious crazies to come out from their caves:

“I do not think it's targeting gays. I don't think it's discrimination,” says O'Connor. “It's supposed to help people that have a religious belief.”

Laura Clawson of the Daily Kos staff’s reaction was much better than anything I could write, so here’s a short bit of what she wrote about the O’Connor’s:

I can't even. I mean, I guess ... thank you, O'Connor family? You have done a great job showing exactly why this law is so awful, the kind of mean-spirited bigotry it was passed to enable, and the degree to which all of Pence's talk of the Golden Rule and how Hoosiers are too nice to discriminate has been a shameless lie. You are the perfect voice for this, which is to say you are abhorrent, un-Christian people.

Thanks again!