Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at a news conference next to former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Thursday, May 2, 2024. Sanders spoke before signing an executive order stating that Arkansas won’t …LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov.
“My message to Joe Biden and the federal government is we will not comply,” Sanders said at a news conference at the state Capitol. Sanders’ order follows similar moves by several other states, including Texas and Oklahoma, that have told schools to not comply with the new regulation. Lawsuits also have been filed in federal courts in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Kentucky challenging the rule. The multiple challenges give the states a better chance that one of them will put the rule on hold nationally.
“This act is a stark defiance of laws to protect against discrimination and a clear, aggressive attack on the well-being and freedoms of LGBTQ people in our state,” Megan Bailey, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, said in a statement.