The Boys & Girls Club — an organization that provides youth with safe spaces, mentorship, and educational support— is a pillar of local communities. But now Senator Kim Hammer is coming for them.
Hammer’s latest bill, SB362, doesn’t mention the Boys & Girls Club (BGCA) by name. But the reality is that this bill was designed specifically to strip the BGCA of state funding. His motivation? A personal vendetta.
What SB362 actually does
On the surface, SB362 looks like an innocent funding bill that would appropriate $2 million in grants for youth organizations through the Arkansas Department of Education. But hidden within Section 2, Hammer includes rigged eligibility criteria that would disqualify any organization associated with:
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies
• Pronoun recognition or gender-inclusive policies
• So-called “woke ideologies”
These rules directly target the Boys & Girls Club, which has a national DEI policy requiring local chapters to maintain inclusive environments for all kids, including LGBTQ+ youth. Since Arkansas Boys & Girls Club chapters are required to follow these policies, they will automatically lose access to these funds if SB362 passes.
Meanwhile, youth groups aligned with conservative political and religious agendas would be free to receive funding. This shines a light on the bill’s true intent: reward allies and punish perceived enemies. The intent does not seem to gel with policy that supports Arkansas’s youth…
The grudge
And that’s because revenge should never dictate policy.
Hammer has held a grudge against the BGCA ever since his daughter was apparently terminated from the program. Though we don’t know much about when, how, or why this happened, it appears as though SB362 is his attempt to hit them where it hurts by pulling their funding.
To summarize, Hammer is using the power of the state to settle a score. This is not the first time he has weaponized government for ideological or personal reasons, either. His past rhetoric makes it clear that he does not view governance as a means of service, but as a tool for attacking political enemies.
Hammer’s history of political retaliation
After Donald Trump’s second impeachment, Hammer posted on Facebook declaring “war” on Democrats, calling them “enemies of democracy and the Constitution” and urging his followers to join a “political war” against them. He later deleted the post, but not before it spread widely.
In that post, Hammer used escalation-driven language, saying:
“This is not a time for faint of heart or weak knees.”
“It is a time to fight and expose them as the enemy of the state they are.”
“This is a time for political war.”
“We will do our part to purge the state.”
Purge the state. Let that sink in.
Sneaky legislative tactic
In 2020, Republican Congressman French Hill praised the work of the Boys & Girls Club and posed for a photo with staff, including Kayla Lawrence, Kim Hammer’s daughter. Lawrence is no longer with the organization and SB362 appears to be retaliatory against the youth program.
Hammer knows he can’t openly defund the Boys & Girls Club without backlash, so instead, he’s employing a deceptive legislative trick:
- Don’t name the organization outright. By creating “neutral” criteria that only one major organization actually meets, Hammer can target the BGCA without ever saying their name. This is pretty darn sneaky.
- Make it sound like a normal budget bill. On its face, SB362 looks like a funding bill for youth programs, giving lawmakers plausible deniability when they vote for it.
- Use buzzwords to shield the attack. By labeling the restrictions as “anti-woke,” Hammer frames this attack as a culture war battle instead of what it really is: state-sponsored retaliation against a private nonprofit.
Why it matters
The Boys & Girls Club has been serving Arkansas kids for decades, providing academic support, mentorship, after-school care, and other essential community resources. If SB362 becomes law, it will strip away funding that helps thousands of children across the state.
And the danger of SB362 goes beyond just this one organization. If Hammer gets away with targeting the Boys & Girls Club over DEI policies, what’s next?
Will schools lose funding if they have inclusion programs?
Will hospitals be punished for hiring diverse staff?
Will Arkansas businesses be denied grants for having employee DEI initiatives?
This is a slippery slope, and it’s all being driven by one man’s personal vendetta.
What you can do
Call your state senators and tell them to vote NO on SB362.
Share this article and let people know what’s really happening at the State Capitol.
Arkansans deserve better than politicians using taxpayer dollars for personal feuds. It’s time to stop SB362 before it hurts the kids who need these programs the most.
