Asa Hutchinson

• Trump, Biden Invited to Meet with Teamsters Rank-and-File, Leadership on January 31
  WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Rank-and-file Presidential Roundtables will continue on Wednesday, Jan. 31, as former President Donald Trump has committed to meet with union members, the Teamsters General Executive Board, General President Sean M. O'Brien, and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman at the union's international headquarters in Washington, D.C.
  President Joe Biden has been invited to join a Teamsters rank-and-file roundtable the same day.
• The Teamsters convened its first five roundtables between rank-and-file members and declared candidates for U.S. President in December.
• "Our members want to hear from all candidates of all parties about what they plan to do for working people as President," O'Brien said.
• Our union wants every candidate to know that there are 1.3 million Teamsters nationwide whose votes will not be taken for granted.

• Many of those bills seek to reduce or eliminate gender-affirming care for transgender minors or to ban drag performances in places where minors could view them.
• Anti-LGBTQ laws that federal judges have concluded do not pass constitutional scrutiny include anti-trans legislation in Arkansas and anti-drag legislation in Tennessee.
• A notable feature of these rulings for me - a First Amendment scholar – is how many rely on the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.

Drag performances

• Several states passed laws aimed at restricting drag performances.
• On June 2, 2023, a federal judge permanently enjoined Tennessee’s attempt to limit drag performances by restricting “adult entertainment” featuring “male or female impersonators.” When a law is permanently enjoined, it can no longer be enforced unless an appeals court reverses the decision.
• And in Utah, a federal judge required the city of St. George to grant a permit for a drag show, ruling that the city had applied an ordinance in a discriminatory manner in order to prevent the family-friendly drag show from happening.

Gender-affirming care

• Asa Hutchinson, preventing transgender minors from receiving various kinds of gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
• The judge agreed that these were legitimate state interests, but rejected Arkansas’ claim that its law furthered those ends.
• The judge also held that Arkansas’ law violated the First Amendment free speech rights of medical care providers because the law would have prevented them from providing referrals for gender transition medical treatment.

Free speech for the LGBTQ community

• In his ruling on the St. George, Utah case, U.S. District Judge David Nuffer stressed that “Public spaces are public spaces.
• Public spaces are not private spaces.
• Free speech rights also extend to those who want to use speech in order to help promote the well-being of LGBTQ people.
• As additional anti-LGBTQ state laws are challenged in court, judges are likely to continue to use the First Amendment to show how such laws fail to respect Americans’ fundamental free speech rights.

• The FAR Councils proposed rule will hand over construction contracts to powerful special interests at the expense of hard-working taxpayers and the principles of free enterprise and fair and open competition in government contracting.
• When mandated by governments, PLAs increase construction costs to taxpayers by 12% to 20%, reduce opportunities for qualified contractors and their skilled craft professionals and exacerbate the construction industrys worker shortage of 650,000 , said Brubeck.
• On Feb. 4, President Biden signed EO 14063 requiring federal construction contracts greater than $35 million to be subjected to PLAs.
• Visit the construction industry coalition website BuildAmericaLocal.com to learn more about government-mandated PLAs and urge lawmakers to support fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

• Asa Hutchinson has officially signed and sealed a proclamation declaring Jan. 23-Jan. 29 "Arkansas School Choice Week."
• His proclamation follows a historic year of school choice expansions across the country, including the creation of a new tax-credit scholarship program for low-income Arkansas families.
• The governor's announcement marks the seventh consecutive year that School Choice Week has been proclaimed in the state.
• Nationwide, more than 26,000 events have been planned for Jan. 23-Jan. 29, which marks the twelfth annual National School Choice Week.