On Wednesday, Family Council filed an amicus brief in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals defending Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments.
In 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a law authorizing a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol Building in Little Rock, and the monument was finally unveiled three years later. But almost immediately, atheist groups filed a lawsuit to remove the monument from the Capitol grounds. The case languished in federal court until a judge ruled against the monument earlier this year.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the Ten Commandments monument on the State Capitol grounds. On Wednesday, attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom representing Family Council filed an amicus brief defending the monument as well.
The amicus brief identifies a basic flaw in the lawsuit against the monument: Citizens who disagree with religion can’t march into federal court and demand any hint of religion be torn down. And the brief points out how the district court in Little Rock went against U.S. Supreme Court precedent when it ruled that anti-religion activists could demand religion be scrubbed from the public square.
The U.S. Supreme Court reviews monuments like Arkansas’ in light of their longstanding history and tradition. Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.
That’s why the Ten Commandments traditionally have appeared in artwork at public buildings across America.
Arkansas’ monument commemorates that same historical and cultural legacy. It’s also identical to a monument the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas Capitol Building in 2005. With all of that in mind, we believe our federal courts will ultimately let the Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument stand proudly on the Capitol grounds.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
