Welcome to phase 3. Here is the action plan.
Our next step is to get HB1237 through the Senate Judiciary Committee. This will likely not come easily. Hearing from you will make a difference, though. Listed below are the e-mail addresses of the Senate Judiciary Committee Members. Please be firm but respectful in your communications. The swing vote in this committee will likely be Senator Robert Thompson from District 11. His district covers Clay, Greene, and Craighead counties. Please, if you are one of his constituents, make a special effort to contact him. If you know someone from his district, please ask for their help.
To get this through committee this time, we will need to focus on rights rather than need. The Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment and the Equal Protection clause of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment are on our side. Please point out that if it is wrong to carry a gun into a church, it is wrong on the basis of moral and religious standards and as such, it is the right of the church to make that determination, NOT the State. Current law is a violation of church rights. They will listen to that better than “I need my gun to protect myself.” We have to make this a constitutional and personal property rights issue.
I hope you are all sitting down for this one. The ACLU has been contacted about this and it is possible that they will be on our side. Stranger things have happened, I suppose. But this is drawing national attention already and the ACLU likes attention. It would be nice to see them on the side of the good guys for a change.
Here are the Senate Judiciary committee members. Please remember the above information and reference HB1237. Enjoy!
Senator Ed Wilkinson. Greenwood, AR District 6
wilkinsone@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Ruth Whitaker. Cedarville, AR District 3
whitakerr@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Henry Wilkins IV. Pine Bluff, AR District 5
hwilkins@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Jim Luker. Wynne, AR District 17
lukerj@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Sue Madison. Fayetteville, AR District 7
madisons@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Jerry Taylor. Pine Bluff, AR District 23
taylorj@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator Robert Thompson. Paragould, AR District
11thompsonr@arkleg.state.ar.us
Senator David Johnson. Little Rock, AR District 32
johnsond@arkleg.state.ar.us
And for the ease of cutting and pasting:
wilkinsone@arkleg.state.ar.us,
whitakerr@arkleg.state.ar.us,
hwilkins@arkleg.state.ar.us,
lukerj@arkleg.state.ar.us,
madisons@arkleg.state.ar.us,
taylorj@arkleg.state.ar.us,
thompsonr@arkleg.state.ar.us,
johnsond@arkleg.state.ar.us
Please note that HB1237 is not on the Senate Judiciary Agenda yet, but it is not too early to get started.