A.G. Griffin Steps In to Defend Ten Commandments Law

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Attorney General Tim Griffin was approved on Wednesday to intervene in a lawsuit over legislation placing copies of the Ten Commandments in public schools and buildings (File Photo Credit: Facebook).

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin will be allowed to intervene in a federal lawsuit over a measure placing copies of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas’ public schools and buildings.

Arkansas law requires a copy of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” to be displayed in public schools and other public buildings. Act 573 of 2025 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) requires a copy of the Ten Commandments to be displayed as well.

The measure received strong support in the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year, and Act 573 is slated to take effect in August.

However, lawyers from the ACLU and a group of atheist organizations filed complaints in court to block Act 573.

The lawsuit was filed specifically against four public school districts:

  • The Fayetteville School District
  • The Springdale School District
  • The Bentonville School District
  • The Siloam Springs School District

Ordinarily it might be up to the school districts’ attorneys to defend the districts in court. However, on Wednesday, Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office received approval to intervene in the lawsuit — meaning his team will be able to defend Act 573 in court.

Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states are free to honor and recognize documents or symbols that are important to our nation’s history — like the Ten Commandments or the national motto.

The Ten Commandments are one of the earliest examples of the rule of law, and they have had a profound impact in shaping our society and our government.

During her testimony in support of Act 573 last April, Rep. Alyssa Brown noted that the U.S. Supreme Court uses a “longstanding history and tradition test” to decide if it is constitutional to display something like a copy of the Ten Commandments. Rep. Brown said, “The Ten Commandments without a doubt will pass this longstanding history and tradition test.”

We believe our federal courts ultimately will agree and uphold Act 573 as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Out-of-State Attorneys Join Ten Commandments Lawsuit

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Out-of-state attorneys from atheist organizations have been given a green light to participate in a lawsuit  that would block the Ten Commandments in Arkansas’ schools and public buildings.

Arkansas law requires a copy of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” to be displayed in public schools and other public buildings. Act 573 of 2025 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) requires a historical copy of the Ten Commandments to be displayed as well. The measure received strong support in the Arkansas Legislature earlier this year, and the governor signed it into law on April 14. Act 573 is slated to take effect later this summer.

However, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on June 11 to block Act 573. On Monday, the federal court issued a series of procedural orders letting attorneys from the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Wisconsin and Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C., represent plaintiffs in the case as well.

This is not the first time these groups have opposed laws in Arkansas. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is currently part of a lawsuit to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the capitol lawn in Little Rock. And both organizations also have a history of complaining about religious expression in Arkansas.

Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that items that are important to our nation’s history — like the Ten Commandments or the national motto — may be honored and recognized publicly without running afoul of the First Amendment.

The Ten Commandments are one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have had a profound impact in shaping America’s concept of the rule of law as well.

Besides being culturally and historically significant, copies of the Ten Commandments have often appeared in artwork at courthouses and similar locations around the country.

During her testimony in support of Act 573 last April, Rep. Alyssa Brown noted that the U.S. Supreme Court uses a “longstanding history and tradition test” to decide if it is constitutional to display something like a copy of the Ten Commandments. Rep. Brown said, “The Ten Commandments without a doubt will pass this longstanding history and tradition test.”

We believe our federal courts ultimately will agree and uphold Act 573 as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Southern Baptist Convention Affirms Biblical Views on Marriage, Gender-Identity

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The Associated Press reports the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman and opposing transgender ideology during its annual meeting in Dallas on Tuesday.

The convention also hosted a conversation with Tennessee’s attorney general and with an Alliance Defending Freedom attorney regarding laws that protect children from sex-change procedures.

This month marks ten years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Obergefell v. Hodges decision that struck down state marriage laws nationwide.

From 2004 to 2015, voters in more than three-fifths of the country democratically passed laws and amendments defining marriage in their respective states. In most cases, those measures defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Obergefell ruling nullified all of those state laws.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution affirms biblical marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and it calls for the reversal of the supreme court’s bad Obergefell ruling. It also opposes the normalization of transgender ideology.

Some member of the media have seemed surprised the Sothern Baptist Convention would approve a resolution like this, but there really should not be anything shocking about a Christian denomination holding Christian beliefs on marriage and gender-identity.

In 2004, the SBC approved a pro-marriage resolution saying, “The union of one man and one woman is the only form of marriage prescribed in the Bible as God’s perfect design for the family.” That resolution also called for passage of a federal marriage amendment defining marriage in America as the union of one man and one woman.

In 2014, the convention approved a resolution affirming “God’s good design that gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.”

In light of that, the SBC’s latest resolution isn’t exactly new.

Support for same-sex marriage has actually declined in recent years, and about half the states —including Arkansas — have passed laws protecting children from sex-change procedures. Many of the world’s leading health experts have found these procedures are dangerous. Americans have also expressed widespread backlash against corporations that pander to pro-LGBT groups.

Reversing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision does not seem likely right now, but the same thing seemed true of Roe v. Wade 50 years ago. We appreciate the Southern Baptist Convention maintaining its biblical convictions regarding marriage and gender-identity.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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