Gary Stubblefield is an American politician. A Republican, 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 House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

, a quorum court, 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 area, ...

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 S ...

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 quorum court 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 ...

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 Under the public healthcare policy of the United States, some people have incomes too high to qualify in their state of residence for Medicaid, the public health insurance plan for those with limited resources, but too low to qualify for the pr ...

, 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 (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, Arkans ...

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 image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

.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 and "

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

" 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 (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 46th governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Part ...

, 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, United States, 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 A ...

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

demagoguery A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, Appeal to emotion, appealing to emo ...

." 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 confron ...

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 (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

ed by Governor Hutchinson, who previously vetoed several other "

culture war A culture war is a form of cultural conflict (metaphorical " war") between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (moral beliefs, humane virtues, and religious practices) upon mainstream society, or upon ...

" 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, 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 ...

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 Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target groups, young c ...

, is an effective

COVID-19 treatment The treatment and management of COVID-19 combines both supportive care, which includes treatment to relieve symptoms, fluid therapy, oxygen support as needed, and a growing list of approved medications. Highly effective vaccines have reduced m ...

. Romero was ultimately confirmed on a 25–8 vote. During the pandemic, Stubblefield also touted

ivermectin Ivermectin 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, it is used to treat infestations including head lice ...

, 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 Republican Party Arkansas state senators Baptists from Arkansas Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly