Gary Stubblefield is an American politician. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he has been a member of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

, elected from District 6, since 2013. He was previously a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

, a

quorum court Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of Local government in the United States, county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A ...

, and a

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

Early life and business career

Stubblefield graduated from

County Line High School County Line High School is a comprehensive high school in Branch, Arkansas located along the Franklin County and Logan County border. Established in 1950, school supports students in grades 7 through 12 and is administered by the County Line Sc ...

in 1969.Bill Bowden
In District 6 race, 2 boast experience: Hopefuls vie for Senate seat
''Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' (October 22, 2012). He is a cattle farmer.

Political career

Stubblefield was a member of the Franklin County

from 1976 to 1977 and spent six years on the County Line School District

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

in the 1980s. He spent one term in the

from House District 67 before running for state Senate in 2012. An opponent of

Medicaid expansion In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...

, Stubblefield voted against a 2019 bill to accept Medicaid expansion in Arkansas; which passed the Senate on a 27–4 vote. In 2017, Stubblefield introduced legislation to weaken the state's

freedom of information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

(FOI) act by precluding the public release of information about K-12 schools, colleges and university campus police departments, and the

Arkansas State Capitol The Arkansas State Capitol, often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the Arkansas General Assembly, and the seat of the Arkansas state government that sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the Capitol Mall in Little Rock, Arkan ...

police force. Stubblefield's bill would have blocked the release of information about the number of police officers or security officers, statistics on the racial and gender makeup of police forces, and possibly even security-video footage.Kelly P. Kissel
Arkansas legislators weighing reduced access to police info
Associated Press (February 10, 2017). Critics such as the Arkansas Press Association decried Stubblefield's proposal for its potential to enable

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

.Kelly P. Kissel
Secret police possible at Arkansas Capitol, perhaps colleges
Associated Press (March 14, 2017). Public records advocates said that the restrictions were the most significant restriction on access to Arkansas public records since adoption of the state's FOI law in 1967. Stubblefield described the

1619 Project The 1619 Project is a long-form journalism endeavor developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from ''The New York Times'', and ''The New York Times Magazine'' which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery an ...

and "

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

" as divisive and co-sponsored a bill to ban teaching the 1619 Project in Arkansas public schools. He sponsored a resolution on African American history that downplayed the role of slavery in the American history and criticized Democrats; it was defeated 22–4. In 2020, Stubblefield clashed with Governor

Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, '' AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who is the 46th and current governor of Arkansas. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. attorney for the Fort Smit ...

, a fellow Republican, over

refugee resettlement Third country resettlement or refugee resettlement is, according to the UNHCR, one of three Refugee#Durable solutions, durable solutions (voluntary return, voluntary repatriation and local integration being the other two) for refugees who fled thei ...

in Arkansas, which Stubblefield opposes and Hutchinson supports. At a Senate committee hearing, Stubblefield said that "Every morning when I wake up and turn on the national news, sometimes I ask myself a question: 'Am I still in the United States of America?'" David Ramsey of the ''

Arkansas Times ''Arkansas Times'', a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a publication that has circulated more than 40 years, originally as a magazine. Founded as a small magazine on newsprint in 1977 by publisher Alan Leveritt, i ...

'' criticized Stubblefield for his statements, calling it "rank

demagoguery A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, e ...

." In 2021, Stubblefield sponsored

nullification Nullification may refer to: * Nullification (U.S. Constitution), a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify any federal law deemed unconstitutional with respect to the United States Constitution * Nullification Crisis, the 1832 confront ...

legislation that would have banned Arkansas state and local police from enforcing federal gun laws, and threatened to impose criminal liability on state and local officers for assisting in enforcing federal gun laws. Similar "nullification" laws have been held by the courts to be unconstitutional, and opponents charged that the passage of the bill would break down federal-state cooperation and endanger public safety. The bill passed the Senate on a 21–12 vote, but was

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed by Governor Hutchinson, who previously vetoed several other "

culture war A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...

" bills passed by fellow Republicans in the state legislature.Andrew DeMillo
Override of Arkansas gun measure clears first vote in Senate
Associated Press (April 26, 2021). However, the Senate voted (by a simple majority) to override the veto, with Republicans in the chamber split on the override. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Arkansas The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Arkansas in March 2020. The first case in Arkansas was reported on March 11, 2020, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County. As of March 2022, there were 819,984 cumulative cases of ...

, Stubblefield staunchly opposed the appointment of Dr. José Romero to head the

Arkansas Department of Health The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH or commonly Health Department within the state) is a department of the government of Arkansas under the Governor of Arkansas. It is responsible for protecting health and well-being for all Arkansans. ADH is a ...

due to Romero's discouragement of the use of

hydroxychloroquine Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...

as a treatment for COVID-19; there is no evidence to indicate that hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial, is an effective COVID-19 treatment. Romero was ultimately confirmed on a 25–8 vote. During the pandemic, Stubblefield also touted

ivermectin Ivermectin (, '' EYE-vər-MEK-tin'') is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, today it is used to treat inf ...

, a cattle dewormer, as treatment against COVID-19; the FDA does not recommend Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19.

Personal life

Stubblefield is a Baptist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubblefield, Gary 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Arkansas state senators Baptists from Arkansas Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)