Arkansas HB 1228

Arkansas HB 1228, also known as the Conscience Protection Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is a law in the state of Arkansas that aims to increase "judicial scrutiny" in cases involving religious beliefs. Opponents of the law say that it will allow for lawful discrimination of LGBT people. On March 31, 2015, the law was passed by the Arkansas Senate. The next day, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced that he would not sign the bill as written, instructing the legislature to make changes the bill's language.

Background

Politifact reports that "Conservatives in Indiana and elsewhere see the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a vehicle for fighting back against the legalization of same-sex marriage." In 2015, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered a halt to the issuing of same-sex marriage licenses, Kansas rescinded an LGBT anti-discrimination order, and Arkansas prohibited anti-discrimination codes being enacted by cities and local governments.

The bill was sponsored by Republican state representative Bob Ballinger and Republican state Senator Bart Hester.

Asa Hutchinson

William Asa Hutchinson (born December 3, 1950) is an American politician who has been the 46th Governor of Arkansas since 2015. Previously he was U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the first Undersecretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, Hutchinson was the Republican candidate for governor of Arkansas and lost to Democrat Mike Beebe, the outgoing state attorney general. In 2014 Hutchinson was again the Republican nominee for Governor, this time winning the election over Democrat Mike Ross to become Governor of Arkansas.

Early life and legal career

Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S., the son of Coral Virginia (Mount) Hutchinson (1912–1998) and John Malcolm Hutchinson, Sr. (1907–1991). He earned his bachelor’s degree from Bob Jones University in South Carolina in 1972, and graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1975. He practiced law in Fort Smith for 21 years and handled more than 100 jury trials. In 1982, Hutchinson was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as U.S. Attorney for the United States Western District of Arkansas. At the age of thirty-one, Hutchinson was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation and made national headlines after successfully prosecuting The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord (CSA), a white supremacist organization founded by polygamist James Ellison. The CSA forced a three-day armed stand-off with local, state and federal law enforcement. As U.S. Attorney, Hutchinson put on a flak jacket and personally negotiated a peaceful conclusion to the stand-off.