In a decision that will surprise no one who’s ever heard of the First Amendment, a federal court obliterated Arkansas’s smooth-brained attempt to infuse church into state by forcing public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every K-12 and college classroom.
U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks described the law as unconstitutional religious coercion that butts into parents’ rights to raise their children in the faith traditions they see fit.
Brooks didn’t simply block the law; he called out Arkansas officials for using the power of the state to push their own religion on schoolchildren.
“Act 573’s purpose is only to display a sacred, religious text in a prominent place in every public-school classroom. And the only reason to display a sacred, religious text in every classroom is to proselytize children. The State has said the quiet part out loud.”
That’s certainly true, although saying the quiet part out loud has become commonplace in Arkansas, where a Christian-right supermajority in the Legislature hasn’t been one bit shy about using their power to force their own beliefs on everyone else. Thank God/god/the gods (or whatever) that the courts stepped in! Read Brooks’ decision here.
The Arkansas arm of the American Civil Liberties Union led the charge on behalf of a band of Unitarian, Jewish and nonreligious parents who sued to save their own children and yours from being held captive to Arkansas politicians’ own personal religious views.
“Today’s ruling is a resounding affirmation that public schools are not Sunday schools. The Constitution protects every student’s right to learn free from government-imposed religious doctrine,” John C. Williams, legal director for ACLU of Arkansas, said in a press release. “Arkansas lawmakers cannot sidestep the First Amendment by mandating that a particular version of the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom. As the court recognized, this law served no educational purpose and instead placed the authority of the state behind a specific religious message. We’re grateful that the court has permanently blocked this unconstitutional law and protected the religious freedom of Arkansas students and families of all faiths and none.”
Monday’s ruling is good news; the fact that Arkansas elected officials so brazenly attempted to establish a state religion by targeting vulnerable youth remains very bad news.
A spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin told USA Today that the state plans to appeal, throwing more taxpayer money at this nakedly unconstitutional attempt to force-feed religion to captive children.
