Arkansas families ask court to block Ten Commandments law

FFRF and other groups, representing 10 Arkansas families, urged an appellate court on Sept. 22 to uphold an injunction that stops the implementation of a Ten Commandments state law.

Arkansas’ Act 573 requires displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and library. The attorneys for the multifaith and nonreligious families, including FFRF Senior Litigation Counsel Sam Grover, argued before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the injunction is necessary to protect the religious freedom of these families under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.

Besides FFRF, the organizations representing the families in Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 are the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel.

The legal contingent issued the following statement:

“Arkansas families — not politicians — have the right to decide how and when their children engage with religion. Act 573 tramples families’ fundamental religious-freedom rights by forcing a government-selected version of the Ten Commandments on children for nearly every hour of the school day, throughout their entire public education. The district court correctly recognized that public schools exist to educate, not to impose the state’s preferred religious doctrine on children. We are proud to support these courageous families and will continue defending the constitutional promise of religious freedom for students and parents of every faith — and those who practice no religion at all.”