A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Arkansas House approves monument to the unborn, porn ID legislation

Arkansas House of Representatives
Lawmakers Tuesday voted to build a monument at the State Capitol to "unborn children aborted" and require picture identification to view pornography.

A bill to require Arkansans to show identification before viewing online pornography passed the Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday. Rep. Mindy McAlindon, R-Centerton, said the bill will prevent minors from watching explicit material, which she said can have negative effects on children and be addictive.

“Currently it is easier for children to log onto a pornography website than it is to log on to Budwiser.com,” she said. “This bill puts just a little bit of a gateway between our children and adult entertainment.”

Rep. Stephen Meeks, R-Greenbrier, worried the bill was unenforceable since most porn companies are not based in Arkansas. He said requiring people to show legal identification on an untrustworthy website could violate their right to privacy.

“By putting this law in place, are we creating an excuse for these websites, that many times are not even located in our country, to put up a portal requiring an Arkansas citizen to put up their personally identifiable data?”

McAlindon said “any time you log onto the internet” you could run the risk of identity theft. The bill will return to the Senate before being signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Monument to "unborn children aborted"

A bill to create a monument to "unborn children aborted" on the State Capitol grounds will now be signed into law by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders after it returned to the Senate for final approval. Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, became emotional when she explained her reasons for supporting the bill.

“It was a holocaust in this nation,” she said. “And we forgot how precious human life is. And life won.”

The monument will be built with private funds, and still has yet to be designed. Rep. Steve Unger, R-Springdale, spoke in opposition to the bill. He said he was pro-life but that the bill “didn't feel right.” He said money could be better used to help mothers and improve the foster care system.

“From a Christian perspective, this has the look and feel of spiking the football,” he said, saying “it looks like gloating.”

Ban on "Breed Specific Legislation"

A bill to prevent bans on specific dog breeds failed 45 to 34 in the Arkansas House with 10 people voting present. House Bill 1519 sponsored by Rep. RJ Hawk, R-Bryant, would have prevented municipal corporations from enacting bans on specific animal breeds.

Hawk said breed bans are costly and “constitutionally suspect.” Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, opposed the bill. He said there were too many documented cases of pit bulls attacking people and children for him to vote in favor of it.

“Pit bulls and other dangerous breeds are notorious for their dangerous behavior,” he said. “The risks associated with owning pit bulls are well-documented, and it is our duty as legislators to protect our constituents from harm.”

Rep. Marcus Richmond, R-Harvey, spoke in favor of the bill citing the long history of laws targeting specific breeds of dogs. Richmond said he knew many good pit bulls and had met aggressive small dogs throughout his life.

“It’s just like saying, well you know what, the Germans are responsible for a couple of world wars, we need to be sure the freaking Germans can’t come to our country anymore,” he said. “Breed-specific bans will not work either.”

Rep. Jeremiah Moore, R-Clarendon, tried to expunge the vote later in the session, but was overruled on a voice vote.

Josie Lenora is the Politics/Government Reporter for Little Rock Public Radio.