Mary Bentley (politician)

Mary Elizabeth Bentley (born December 26, 1961)[1] is a businesswoman from Perryville, Arkansas, who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 73, which encompasses parts of Yell, Pope, Perry, and Conway counties in the central portion of her state.[2]

Mary Elizabeth Bentley
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 73rd district
Assumed office
January 2015
Preceded byJohn Catlett
Personal details
Born (1961-12-26) December 26, 1961
Massachusetts
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDivorced
ChildrenThree children
Residence(s)Perryville, Perry County
Arkansas, USA
Alma materHarding University
OccupationBusinesswoman

On March 16, 2021, Bentley introduced House Bill 1749 which sought to provide safeguards for teachers who address students by other than their preferred name or pronouns. She argued in support of the bill by saying, "It's helping those professors and teachers in our schools that do not want to be sued for not using a certain person's pronoun." Human rights advocates said that the bill targeted transgender people.[3][4][5]

In 2021, she sponsored legislation to allow the teaching of the pseudoscientific religious theory of creationism in public schools.[6]

References

  1. "Mary Bentley's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  2. "Mary Bentley". arkansashouse.org. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  3. "HB1749 Bill Information - Arkansas State Legislature". Arkansas State Legislature. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  4. Rose, Shelby (2021-04-08). "Bill allowing Arkansas teachers to misgender students passes the House". KATV. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  5. Lockwood, Frank; Herzog, Rachel (2021-04-09). "Transgender name ban advances". Arkansas Online. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  6. Hayes, Mills (2021-04-07). "Creationism bill passed in Arkansas House, headed to Senate". KATV. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
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