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State Representative Mark Smith of Marshalltown is running to be the next chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. Smith said today that his background gives him the experience to help restore confidence to the party. Current chair Troy Price announced his resignation yesterday after the still delayed results of the Iowa caucuses were said to be inaccurate. The Democratic Party State Central Committee will meet Saturday afternoon to elect a new party chair.
Republicans in the Iowa Senate are advancing a religious freedom bill that opponents say would weaken civil rights protections.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act would raise the legal threshold to enforce a state or local law when a person says it violates their faith.
Brad Cranston of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values says the legislature should join twenty-one other states and the federal government which have passed similar measures.
Iowans should be free to live and work according to their faith without fear of being punished by their government. This law simply ensures that freedom gets a fair hearing in court.
Iowans should be free to live and work according to their faith without fear of being punished by their government. This law simply ensures that freedom gets a fair hearing in court.
Opponents of the bill say it would give business owners a legal defense to refuse customers based on their race or sexual orientation.
The bill now goes to the full Senate Local Government committee.
A South Dakota House committee has advanced Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to update parts of the “riot boosting” laws that a judge found to be unconstitutional last year. Native American groups opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline protested the bill.
