Satanic Temple Plans to Sue Arkansas

Current Events, ,

The Associated Press reports the Satanic Temple plans to join the ACLU in a lawsuit against the State of Arkansas over the new monument of the Ten Commandments on the Capitol lawn.

Arkansas unveiled the privately-funded Ten Commandments monument at a brief dedication ceremony yesterday.

The monument is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional in Texas in 2005.

You may recall the Satanic Temple threatened to put a satanic monument on the Capitol grounds a few years ago if Arkansas placed a Ten Commandments monument on the property; however, that effort never went anywhere in part because monuments require legislative approval. Arkansas is not obligated to put a statue of Satan alongside its monument of the Ten Commandments.

It’s worth mentioning that the monument installed yesterday actually is a replacement of one that was destroyed last year. You may recall a man plowed a car into the initial Ten Commandments monument less than 24 hours after it was placed on the Capitol lawn.

The ACLU and others who oppose the Ten Commandments monument were swift to issue public statements denouncing the destruction of that monument with a car, but they seem more than eager to try to destroy it with a lawsuit.

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Arkansas Unveils Ten Commandments Monument

Current Events, ,

From Left: State Senator Jason Rapert (R-Bigelow), and Family Council staff members Ken Yang, Charisse Dean, Luke McCoy, and Jerry Cox.

Today Arkansas’ new Ten Commandments monument was unveiled on the Capitol lawn in Little Rock.

The legislature authorized the privately funded monument in 2015, and construction was completed last year. However, less than 24 hours after the initial monument was unveiled, it was destroyed when a man plowed a car into it.

The replacement monument includes concrete bollards to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, several groups continue to oppose the Ten Commandments monument.

The ACLU has promised to sue the state to have the monument removed — even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled an identical monument constitutional in Texas nearly thirteen years ago — and the leader of the Satanic Temple was present before today’s unveiling ceremony, along with several protesters.

Frankly, there just shouldn’t be anything controversial about honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

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. The Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are amazing documents, but the Ten Commandments are the great-great-granddaddy of them all.

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Task Force Plans to Review Grocery Tax Increase

Legislature,

Yesterday we wrote that the legislature’s Tax Reform and Relief Task Force met to discuss proposals to raise the state sales tax on groceries; eliminate the annual sales tax holiday for back-to-school supplies; levy a sales tax on nonprofit hospitals and nursing homes; and cut taxes on new and used cars.

Bad News From the Task Force Meeting

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the task force voted to further review plans to increase the state grocery tax.

Under the proposal, the legislature would increase the state sales tax on groceries from 1.5% to 6.5% and create an earned income tax credit that would help offset the effect the grocery tax would have low- and moderate-income families.

The task force cannot raise the grocery tax itself, but it can develop a plan to raise the tax and make recommendations to the legislature in 2019.

The task force also agreed to further study a proposal that would eliminate the back-to-school sales tax holiday. That’s bad news.

Good News From the Task Force Meeting

Lawmakers opted to continue reviewing plans to exempt vehicles sold for less than $10,000 from the state sale tax, and decided not to move forward with a proposal to tax sales to nonprofit and charitable hospitals and nursing homes. That’s good news.

The Bottom Line

I’m glad legislators might cut taxes on new and used cars, but it’s troubling that some elected officials want to raise taxes on basic necessities like groceries.

Lawmakers have indicated their goal is to reduce income taxes for top earners as well as low-income families. To do this, some say they need to overhaul — and increase — Arkansas’ sales taxes.

If Arkansas raises taxes on groceries while giving income tax breaks to the poor and the wealthy, that’s going to hurt middle class families who don’t qualify for any tax credits. No one should be penalized for buying bread and milk.

Likewise, eliminating the back-to-school sales tax holiday affects parents with young children. The tax holiday doesn’t exist to help businesses. It’s meant to help families. The tax holiday makes it easier to purchase basic supplies for educating students.

Legislators need to think very carefully before taking up proposals to eliminate the tax breaks or raise taxes on everyday families.

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