Satanic Temple plans to sue state of Arkansas over alleged religious discrimination

The First Amendment firebrands at the the Satanic Temple are preparing a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas, alleging religious discrimination in the wake of the erection this week of a monument to the Ten Commandments. The monument is being feted with a dedication ceremony this morning (Benji Hardy is on hand and will have more soon from the scene, including an interview with Lucien Greaves, the Temple's spokesperson and co-founder).

In a press release, the group announced that it will file a lawsuit arguing that the rejection of their own proposed monument amounts to religious discrimination, with the state showing unconstitutional preference for one religion over another in promoting a Biblical monument over the Satanic Temple's monument. The lawsuit will be merged with expected suits filed by other groups arguing that the Ten Commandments monument violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

The Satanic Temple (a non-theistic religion that does not worship a supernatural Satan) has a sense of humor, but they are not a joke. They have been dogged in pursuing legal challenges on First Amendment grounds; they made headway this year, for example, in Missouri challenging anti-abortion laws on religious freedom grounds.

The background, familiar to readers of this blog: Sen. Jason Rapert and other Republican lawmakers pushed a bill through the legislature in 2015 that decreed that a privately funded Ten Commandments monument be placed on the Capitol grounds. ACLU-Arkansas and others called that a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Read more: https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/04/26/satanic-temple-plans-to-sue-state-of-arkansas-over-alleged-religious-discrimination