Judge Announces Hearing in Lawsuit Over Arkansas’ Ten Commandments Monument
On Wednesday U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker announced that her court would hold a hearing in the lawsuit over Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments on Tuesday, September 8, 2021.
A trial over the monument was scheduled for last year, but later postponed due to COVID-19.
In 2015 Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) sponsored Act 1213 authorizing a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas State Capitol Grounds. The law received bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature.
The Ten Commandments monument was paid for with private funds, and it was placed on the Capitol lawn on June 27, 2017.
Less than 24 hours later, a man plowed a vehicle into the monument, completely destroying it.
The monument was rebuilt and replaced on the Capitol grounds in April of 2018.
Shortly afterward, the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Satanic Temple all filed legal challenges to have the monument removed.
Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional in Texas in 2005.
The Ten Commandments are one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have had a tremendous impact on western civilization. Courts have ruled that it is OK for states like Arkansas to install monuments recognizing that historical fact.
We need to understand and appreciate the significance of the Ten Commandments — including their impact on our system government and their relevance to us today.
Unfortunately some groups seem determined to erase anything that acknowledges that significance from the public arena.
