Ten Commandments Monument (Little Rock, Arkansas)

The Ten Commandments Monument is an outdoor monument installed on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds in Little Rock, Arkansas, in the United States.

History

The monument was erected on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds on 27 June 2017. The monument was destroyed within 24 hours of its installation.[1][2][3] The man who allegedly rammed the monument with his car while live streaming the crime, Michael Tate Reed, 32, of Van Buren, Arkansas, was linked to a similar incident with the Ten Commandments Monument on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds in 2014.[4]

Following private fundraising from State Senator and Christian minister Jason Rapert, the monument was replaced in April 26, 2018. The monument is being challenged as unconstitutional by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU says that the monument demonstrates a religious preference, violating the First Amendment. The monument is also challenged by The Satanic Temple, a non-theistic religious organization which offered to put up a bronze statue of Baphomet as a symbol of religious pluralism and freedom. According to the Satanic Temple, the states legislature's rejecting one monument while allowing the other demonstrates a religious preference.[5] The Arkansas State Constitution also has a clause prohibiting religious preference.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Burnside, Tina (2015-09-01). "Arkansas Ten Commandments monument damaged; suspect in custody". CNN. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  2. ↑ "Arkansas' Ten Commandments monument destroyed by vehicle". CBS News. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  3. ↑ "Man destroys new Ten Commandments statue at Arkansas Capitol". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  4. ↑ Cleve R. Wootson Jr. (June 28, 2017), "Why one man keeps ramming his car into Ten Commandments statues on government property", The Washington Post
  5. ↑ Bleed, Jill; DeMillo, Andrew (April 26, 2018). "Arkansas Replaces Ten Commandments Monument at State Capitol". U.S. News and World Report. Associated Press. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ Hardy, Benjamin (April 27, 2018). "Ten Commandments rise again at Capitol, but Satanic Temple says Arkansas law is on its side". Arkansas Times. Retrieved April 29, 2018.


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