Mary Bentley (politician)

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name=Mary Elizabeth Bentley

| birth_date={{birth date and age|1961|12|26}}

| birth_place= Massachusetts

| residence=Perryville, Perry County
Arkansas, USA

| death_date=

| death_place=

| death_cause=

| resting_place=

| state_house=Arkansas

| district=54th

| term_start= January 9, 2023

| term_end=

| preceded= Johnny Rye

| succeeded=

| state_house1 = Arkansas

| district1 = 73rd

| term_start1 = January 12, 2015

| term_end1 = January 9, 2023

| predecessor1 = John Catlett

| successor1 = Andrew Collins (redistricting)

| party=Republican

| alma_mater=Harding University

| occupation=Businesswoman

| spouse=Divorced

| children=3

| footnotes=

}}

Mary Elizabeth Bentley (born December 26, 1961){{cite web|url=http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/136704/mary-bentley#.VSsrKMstEqQ|title=Mary Bentley's Biography|publisher=Project Vote Smart|accessdate=April 12, 2015}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansashouse.org/member/352/Mary-Bentley|title=Mary Bentley|publisher=arkansashouse.org|accessdate=April 12, 2015}}

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.{{Cite web|title=HB1749 Bill Information - Arkansas State Legislature|url=https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=HB1749&ddBienniumSession=2021/2021R|access-date=2021-04-11|website=Arkansas State Legislature|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Rose|first=Shelby|date=2021-04-08|title=Bill allowing Arkansas teachers to misgender students passes the House|url=https://katv.com/news/local/bill-allowing-arkansas-teachers-to-misgender-students-passes-the-house|access-date=2021-04-11|website=KATV}}{{Cite web|last1=Lockwood|first1=Frank|last2=Herzog|first2=Rachel|date=2021-04-09|title=Transgender name ban advances|url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/apr/09/transgender-name-ban-advances/|access-date=2021-04-11|website=Arkansas Online|language=en}}

In 2021, she sponsored legislation to allow the teaching of the pseudoscientific religious theory of creationism in public schools.{{Cite web|last=Hayes|first=Mills|date=2021-04-07|title=Creationism bill passed in Arkansas House, headed to Senate|url=https://katv.com/news/local/creationism-bill-passed-in-house-headed-to-senate|access-date=2021-04-18|website=KATV}}