An article by Andrew DeMillo of the Associated Press about Arkansas’s stature as one of only four states without a hate crime law and the possiblity that passage could be possible here is getting wide republication, including on ABC News.

The article notes that a hate crime proposal passed the state Senate, but faltered in the House.

It’s important to fill a gap in the coverage. A hate crime law failed in Arkansas in 2017 because the proposal that passed the Senate included penalties for crimes against people on account of sexual orientation. The so-called Christians at the Family Council made clear their opposition to civil rights protection for LGBT people and for penalties for crimes against LGBT people. It might advance the “homosexual agenda,” the love-filled folks at Family Council said.

You know what agenda they mean, don’t you? Equal treatment under the law. Can’t have that in Arkansas. And we don’t. Hate and discrimination against LGBT people are protected by law — in the name of religious freedom, of course.