HISTORIC LEGISLATION! Arkansas Legislature Votes to Override Governor’s Veto of SAFE Act at AFA’s Urging

Little Rock, Ark. – This week, the Arkansas Legislature voted to override Governor Hutchinson’s veto of H.B. 1570, the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

 This legislative override is a direct result of an American Family Association (AFA, www.AFA.net) action alert campaign, sent to Arkansas voters, urging them to contact their legislature to override the Governor’s veto. The AFA action alert read in part, “The Arkansas legislature needs to protect children from regressive liberals who insist on harming children by advocating for gender-reassignment surgeries that can leave children sterilized and scarred for life. Medical researchers do not know the long-term effects these procedures and therapies can have on kids. That is why many people equate them with experimenting on children.”

 Key points of the SAFE Act include:

• “Gender transition” is an experiment; no “treatment” can change a person’s genetic composition, and no studies have demonstrated long-term benefits.
• The government should not force taxpayers to fund it, insurers to cover it, or children to be subjected to it.
• The SAFE Act also provides legal remedies for minors who have been permanently disfigured and/or sterilized.

 “Arkansas legislators voting to override Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto should be commended for making the right decision,” stated Rob Chambers, Vice President for AFA Action (www.afaaction.net), a division of the American Family Association. “Their courageous vote will help prevent irreparable, physical harm done to children. Surgical mutilation of a child’s genitalia for sex reassignment purposes is destructive and irreversible—this is not healthcare.”

 Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “This is really good news. Gender-reassignment surgeries can leave children sterilized and scarred for life. Medical researchers do not know the long-term effects these procedures and therapies can have on kids. That is why many people equate them with experimenting on children. This good legislation will protect Arkansas’ children from sex-reassignment procedures.”

 For over 40 years, AFA has operated within the mission to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission. Find AFA Action Alerts here.

 AFA—founded in 1977—has long been on the front lines of America’s culture war. Today, AFA is one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with nearly a million online supporters and approximately 160,000 subscribers to the AFA Journal, the ministry’s monthly magazine. In addition, AFA owns and operates nearly 180 radio stations across the country under the American Family Radio banner.

 View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.

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To interview a representative of the American Family Association, contact [email protected], Beth Harrison, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.