Arkansas town repeals anti-discrimination ordinance, thanks in part to Michelle Duggar's robocall
Arkansas town repeals anti-discrimination ordinance, thanks in part to Michelle Duggar
The reality star and mother of 19 recorded a fear-mongering robocall in an effort to overturn the measure
The town of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has voted to repeal an ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of numerous demographic characteristics — age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, the list goes on — thanks at least in part to the efforts of Michelle Duggar. Over the summer, the “19 Kids & Counting” star recorded a hateful, trans-phobic robocall encouraging voters to overturn Ordinance 119, inaccurately claiming that the measure — which allows transgender people to use public facilities associated with their identified gender — would allow “males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.”
Fayetteville residents voted to repeal the act in a 52 to 48 percent split, and if they were motivated by Duggar, it likely wasn’t just her words that encouraged them. According to the New Civil Rights Movement, Duggar and her family have used their reality TV riches to fund their interests in local elections, including the one in Fayetteville:
The “19 Kids and Counting” family “donated $10,000 toward the campaigns of the three most outspoken opponents to Fayetteville’s new Civil Rights Administration ordinance. The Duggars gave $2,000 to John La Tour, and $4,000 to both Joshua Crawford and Paul Phaenuef,” the Fayettevile Flyer reported October 31. “La Tour, Crawford, and Phaneuf have all said they oppose the ordinance and were each listed as contacts on a press release for Repeal 119.”
http://www.salon.com/2014/12/10/arkansas_town_repeals_anti_discrimination_ordinance_thanks_in_part_to_michelle_duggar/
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