Devil’s in the details: The government is not required to display satanic statues

By 

Jay Sekulow

|
July 28, 2015

2 min read

Free Speech

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A false narrative is being advanced in Arkansas and elsewhere that if a government body displays a privately donated Ten Commandments monument for historical reasons, it is legally required to accept and display any and all other monuments offered by a private individual or group, even those honoring Satan.

The Satanic Temple is expected to unveil its statue honoring Satan in the days ahead and says it plans to attempt to force state officials in Arkansas to display the 8 ½ -foot bronze figurine outside the Arkansas Statehouse – where lawmakers this year approved a Ten Commandments display on public land.

The Satanic Temple would like you to believe that Arkansas is legally required to accept and display this statue.  That is simply not the case.  In fact, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously rejected this very argument.

In 2009, the Court ruled 9-to-0 in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, a Utah case I had the privilege to argue, that when the government owns and displays a statue, monument, or memorial, it is engaging in government speech which does not trigger any right of a private party to force the government to display any other monument. . . . 

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