The Freedom From Religion Foundation is one of three sets of plaintiffs making the case today for removal of a Ten Commandments monolith from the grounds of the Arkansas Capitol in the federal courtroom of Judge Kristine G. Baker. FFRF Legal Counsel Sam Grover and local counsel Gerry Schulze are representing FFRF member Anne Orsi, three secular organizations and other individual plaintiffs in oral arguments. Another set of four plaintiffs are represented by the Arkansas Civil Liberties Union Foundation, and the Satanic Temple has intervened in the case as a third plaintiff party. Former state Sen. Jason Rapert, founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, sponsored the bill to install the biblical edicts in 2015. The law states that the Ten Commandments “are an important component of the moral foundation of the laws and legal system of the United States of America and of the state of Arkansas,” and “represent a philosophy of government held by many of the founders of this nation.” The first monument , installed in 2017, did not survive being crashed into by a car driven by a mentally ill believer. But that monument was replaced, prompting the secular groups to file […]
