Human Rights Campaign Arkansas Director Says ‘Equality Summer’ Coming
by April 9, 2015 9:53 am 106 views
Arkansas’ Legislature stands in recess but not without drawing national attention over a “religious freedom” bill deemed by some to sanction discrimination against the state’s LGBT population.
The last week of the regular session saw Arkansas lawmakers and the governor attempt to avert a disastrous PR nightmare similar to Indiana, which approved a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that some say will lead to discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson convinced the legislature to drop the highly controversial HB 1228 and edit a different bill, which became law, that simply mirrored federal language.
KUAR’s Jacob Kauffman sat down with Kendra Johnson, the director of Human Rights Campaign Arkansas, to talk about next steps for the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group.
His conversation includes:
- Pursuit of an executive order from Gov. Asa Hutchinson adding protections for gender identity and sexual orientation;
- Equality as an economic calculation in Arkansas; and
- The launch of “Equality Summer” on Thursday night.
Listen to the full interview here.