CAR Partners With “Know Thy Neighbor” to Publish Act 1 Ballot Initiative Signatures
Not long after the tragic loss of Act 1 at the polls, CAR was contacted by Tom Lang of Know Thy Neighbor, a Massachusetts based organization that specializes in posting on their website for public viewing the names of all of the individuals who sign ballot petitions that further disenfranchise members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Until now the primary focus has been on anti-marriage initiatives. We deeply appreciate that Tom Lang and Know Thy Neighbor understands how important what happened in Arkansas is to not only LGBTQ Arkansans and our allies, but to the rest of the nation.
CAR was asked to partner with Know Thy Neighbor to publicize the signatures that were used to place Act 1 on the 2008 ballot here in Arkansas. CAR unequivocally said yes! To see the list go to
Knowthyneighbor.org and click on National and then click on Arkansas.
At no time was the welfare of children ever the primary intent of Jerry Cox and his Family Council Action Committee. Children in the most need were placed in the unfortunate position of being a political football to support Mr. Cox and the Family Council’s systemic efforts to disenfranchise the LGBTQ community in Arkansas. Jerry Cox publically stated in a news broadcast that Act 1 was indeed about blunting the homosexual agenda.
The Family Council was also the author of the 2004 Constitutional Amendment that banned not only same sex marriages, it also prohibited any form of legal family recognition for lesbian and gay couples by forbidding civil unions and domestic partnerships.
Additionally Act 1 significantly shrank the pool of potential quality parents offering safe and loving homes to children who were in desperate need of homes. Act 1 did little to increase the numbers of married heterosexual couples signing up to adopt or provide foster care. Act 1 also banned unmarried heterosexual couples from adopting or providing foster care. Act 1 went further still; taking away the rights of parents to leave their children to relatives or friends who are unmarried couples, straight, lesbian or gay.
Today we at CAR are pleased to be a part of shining the light on the bigotry that continues to disenfranchise LGBTQ Arkansans. We are proud to be a part of peeling back the veil of anonymity that those who signed the petition may have assumed that they had. They don’t! These lists are a matter of public record. In partnership with Know Thy Neighbor we are sending a message, “If you attack the lives and families of the LGBTQ community, then you must be prepared to be held accountable and to be named!”
We are asking our members to share the information with everyone you know. Take a look at the list; if you see a family member, friend, co-worker, etc. then talk to that person. Ask them why? Why would they be a part of keeping you from full equality? Why would they allow children to be used in such a despicable way?
It is our stories, our faces and our names, that are the core of creating the change needed to move hearts and minds. We must continue to remind our fellow Arkansans that ALL Families Matter!
