LITTLE ROCK, AR – Today, Independent Women applauds Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders for signing Senate Bill 486 into law, which fully codifies Governor Sanders’s earlier pro-woman executive order and fortifies definitions of sex-based terms like “male” and “female” already in use throughout Arkansas state statutes.
Now signed into law by Governor Huckabee Sanders, SB 486:
- Defines common sex-based terms, such as ‘ ‘sex’, ‘female,’ and ‘male,’; and
- Protects single-sex spaces, such as changing rooms, sleeping quarters, and shelters.
Introduced by Arkansas State Senator Blake Johnson and Representative Mary Bentley to enshrine Governor Sanders’ protections for women in Arkansas state law, the Stand With Women legislation safeguards the existence of single-sex spaces.
Governor Sanders became the first female governor in the country to take executive action affirming the reality of sex in 2024. With the signing of SB 486, she ensures that Arkansas women and girls will continue to be protected in law.
“As a woman and mom of a girl athlete, I am proud to sign Senate Bill 486 into law to safeguard women and girls in locker rooms, bathrooms, and everywhere else,” said Governor Sanders. “It is heartbreaking that we have people in this country who are unwilling to protect young women, but Arkansas will always stand up for girls’ safety and common sense.”
Beth Parlato, senior legal advisor for Independent Women, said “Governor Sanders was the first female governor in the country to take action to define sex-based terms, and just the next year, the Arkansas General Assembly has swiftly codified her action. Now the rights of 1.5 million women and girls across the state are preserved. It is time for more female governors to follow suit.”
Governor Sanders’ leadership places Arkansas among a growing number of states—including Kansas, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, and soon Georgia—that have adopted laws inspired by Independent Women’s Stand With Women model, positively affecting the lives of nearly 30 million women and girls.
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