Voices

Rick Shumate: ‘Pernicious and unnecessary’ laws make life harder for ordinary Arkansans

Over the course of the recently concluded session of the Arkansas Legislature, the media have reported in bits and pieces on various measures passed by lawmakers that infringe on Arkansans’ rights, target marginalized groups, erode the wall of separation between church and state, limit free speech and squash democratic participation, usually with the stated purpose of solving “problems” that only exist in the minds of Republican legislators.