Lakeside School District added to 10 Commandment lawsuit, ordered to take down any displays

FORT SMITH, Ark. – A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order requiring Lakeside School District in Garland County to not display the 10 Commandments and to take down any displays already in place.

The order was issued on Friday. Temporary restraining orders are issued when the judge believes the case being made for a permanent restraining order will be upheld.

This marks the addition of the Lakeside School District as the sixth Arkansas school district to join the ongoing lawsuit over the display of the 10 Commandments, alongside the Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and Conway school districts.

The display of the commandments was otherwise mandated by Act 573, created during the state legislature’s most recent session. It was signed into law on April 14 by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The bill received broad support in both chambers, with a 27-4 vote in the Senate and a 71-20 vote in the House. Sen. Jim Dotson (R-Bentonville) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R-Heber Springs) were the bill’s primary sponsors, with 13 cosponsors.

In each school district, at least one parent was named as taking issue with the 10 Commandments display at their child’s school.

In Lakeside, an affidavit signed by the parent said she and her minor child were forcibly subject to scripture in a manner “that violates our family’s religious beliefs and practices, and usurps my parental role.” She also states that she is a Catholic and attends church regularly.

The affidavit continues that the display violates the command to love thy neighbor and elevates Old Testament teachings over New Testament teachings.

“We will continue to vigorously defend the law,” Attorney General Tim Griffin’s spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said.