Initiated Act 1 in Arkansas

I know that many bloggers right now are concentrating on California and Prop 8, but since I live in Arkansas, and not California, I thought I should concentrate on matters I can better affect.

In the last election cycle, Arkansans approved a measure from the Arkansas Family Council, headed by a Mr. Jerry Cox, which effectively bans any couples whom are not married from adopting or rendering foster care to children. Why did they feel this was necessary? It's a smoke and mirrors trick. A few years ago, the Arkansas State Supreme Court threw out a law that banned same sex couples from adopting or caring for foster children in Arkansas.

Arkansas also has an ammendment added to its constitution banning any form of legal status for same sex couples. A recent constitutional ammentment not only defines marriage as, "between one man and one woman", but also closes the door on any other civil unions. The exact ammendment reads as follows:

"SECTION 1: Marriage
Marriage consists only of the union of one man and one woman.

SECTION 2: Martial Status
Legal status for unmarried persons which is identical or substantially similar to marital status shall not be valid or recognized in Arkansas, except that the Legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman.

SECTION 3: Capacity, rights, obligations, privileges, and immunities.
The Legislature has the power to determine the capacity of persons to marry, subject to this amendment, and the legal rights, obligations, privileges, and immunities of marriage."

So since in Arkansas LGBT couples can not marry or enter into civil unions, we can draft a broad legislation stating that no unmarried couples can adopt or care for foster children, thus completely eliminating our children being exposed to "gay cooties".

Right now, the ACLU is filing an injunction calling the law unconstitutional and discriminatory. And they do have a case. Even though the law itself was drafted to be as inclusive as possible, its intentions were sent out to every church in Arkansas. I am praying that it is overturned, and that soon the constitutional ammendment will be as well.

So I am hoping that the Prop. 8 debate goes all the way to the US Supreme Court and is overturned. It will pave the way for Arkansans to repeal the nonsense laws on our own books and maybe move up into at least the 20th century.

I'll be following this vein for a bit, so y'all might want to strap in for a long debate. I want to look at this from both sides and possibly debunk some of the myths and outright lies that the Arkansas Family Council wants us to swallow.