FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - A Fayetteville City Council member wants to propose a new version of a civil rights ordinance, after the original was repealed by voters Tuesday (Dec. 9.), but an Arkansas senator is working on legislation that would stop that from happening.
State Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said he and other legislator are writing a bill that would keep cities, like Fayetteville, from creating their own civil rights ordinances.
“You can't have a different civil rights ordinance in every city, and every county, in this state,” Hester said.
According to Hester, such civil rights ordinances would be bad for business.
“Businesses can't function that way, you have to have some continuity," he said. “A city, or county, in the state of Arkansas cannot have civil rights ordinances that is any more restrictive than that of the federal government."
Hester said federal civil rights are already protected in Arkansas.
“[Federal civil rights include] race, color, religion, national origin, disability,” Hester said. “Those type of civil rights are protected, and they should be protected. Those are things that make us part of America, and that make us treat everyone equally.”
Fayetteville Alderman Matthew Petty disagrees with Hester’s proposal.
“Ordinance [119] was an extension of federal, and state, protections on the basis of discrimination,” Petty said. “I don't think it is right for the legislator to take that kind of power away from the states.”
According to Petty, it's important to extend civil rights protections to the LGBT community.
“Many people don't realize that, right now, it's entirely legal to fire somebody for being gay,” Petty said. “That was one of the things that we were trying to correct. We don't think that is right. We think it is 2014, and nobody should have to live in fear of losing their job.”
Petty said he plans to go to the Fayetteville City Council with a new ordinance, which he hopes will satisfy both sides.
“I think we need to really pull a couple of key people together, and put forward a compromise piece of legislation,” Petty said.
Petty said the city council wants to bring in members of the Fayetteville community to help draft a new version of Ordinance 119.
“It makes us as a legislature look at a potential law that has never been needed in the past, that we do believe is a need now,” Hester said.
Hester said he plans to have the bill ready for the next legislative session in January.