Conscience Protection Act Signed into Law

Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signing of a bill protecting religious organizations’ religious beliefs and identity from discriminatory actions has generated dueling reactions from religious freedom and LGBT advocacy groups.

Sanders signed House Bill 1615, also known as the Conscience Protection Act, into law last Wednesday, banning the state government from taking “any discriminatory action against a religious organization on the basis of the religious identity or status of the religious organization.”

This includes action taken in opposition to religious organizations that maintain “policies and procedures in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or the religious organization engaging in religious conduct protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or the Arkansas Constitution.” (Excerpt from The Christian Post.)