An Obama-appointed judge has struck down an Arkansas Ten Commandments law. In his judgment, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy L. Brooks said that there is “no need to strain our minds to imagine a constitutional display mandated” by the 2025 law; “One doesn’t exist,” he wrote.
He also said that “nothing could possibly justify hanging the Ten Commandments — with or without historical context — in a calculus, chemistry, French, or woodworking class, to name a few.”
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she will appeal the decision.
The case was brought by several Arkansas families who challenged the state’s new law requiring all public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom and library. The lawsuit named six school districts in Arkansas as defendants.
Critics argue that the mandate is unconstitutional and violates the separation of church and state. Proponents of the legislation say the Ten Commandments have historical significance and are part of the foundation of the United States.
Arkansas-based Family Council President Jerry Cox says Brooks has it all wrong with the Ten Commandments.
“Judge Brooks is just flatly wrong in his ruling because he essentially says that the Ten Commandments are of no educational value to a student, and that’s ridiculous. Anyone who has studied history, whether you believe in God or not, knows that the Ten Commandments form the basis of just about all of Western civilization, Western thought, and are very instrumental in the founding of our country.”
He said students study all sorts of things and no one pushes back on those. He said it is right for Gov. Sarah Sanders to appeal the decision.
“I found it odd that students could read the works of the of the Greek philosophers all day long at school and nobody fusses about it. They can read about Roman law all day long at school and study that thoroughly. But if you bring in the foundation of Western civilization and say, ‘Well, let’s talk about that too, and how it impacted our, our world … ’ No, you can’t even see the Ten Commandments,” Cox said.
