Members of a state commission were assigned Tuesday to committees to study the aesthetics of proposed monuments for the state Capitol grounds -- a lawmaker-approved plan to honor the Ten Commandments and private proposals that include a Satanic goat statue and a skeptic group's brick wall.
Secretary of State Mark Martin, the chairman of the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission, split the commissioners into two groups to study the three proposals by religious and skeptic groups, as well as an unrelated request for a monument honoring the families of fallen servicemen.
Each subcommittee will review two proposals and take public comments before reporting its findings to the full commission, Martin said. Before any proposed structure can be built on the Capitol grounds, it must get approval from both the commission and the General Assembly.
Only the Ten Commandments monument has taken that latter step, receiving approval from 99 lawmakers in both chambers last year. Act 1231, sponsored by state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, requires the commission to find a suitable spot for the monument and requires the attorney general to defend any challenges to its installation.
The monument is being paid for by more than $26,000 in donations to the American History & Heritage Foundation.
After the law was passed, the New York-based Satanic Temple announced plans for an 8.5-foot-tall bronze statue of Baphomet. Last week, the Saline Atheist & Skeptic Society filed a request for a brick wall to be constructed in front of both. A Nevada Hindu group has also expressed interest in having its own statue built but has not submitted a proposal.
Representatives of the Society of Freethinkers and of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union promised lawsuits if any religious monuments are built on Capitol grounds, and they said lawmakers would be to blame for the state's legal costs.
"This is going to end up in litigation if either the Ten Commandments or the satanists' statue" is approved, said attorney Gerry Schulze, a member of the Society of Freethinkers.
Holly Dickson, a lawyer with ACLU of Arkansas, said she doubted lawmakers or the Capitol grounds commission would see the costs of a court battle as a deterrent to building the Ten Commandments monument.
"It should be, but it won't," Dickson said.
Martin, interviewed by reporters after the meeting, said the commissioners would mainly be discussing aesthetic aspects of all four proposals.
When asked what action he would take if the commission approves any of the other monuments, Martin said he believes he would have to present the recommendations to the General Assembly.
"I don't agree with it, but I hope that's not the case," Martin said.
Martin then declined to take any more questions and quickly left the room.
A spokesman later clarified that Martin's office would present the commission's findings, but a lawmaker would have to draft the legislation. He declined to say what proposals Martin disagreed with.
Rapert, who sponsored the Ten Commandments law, said he would be open to hearing any idea for a monument on Capitol grounds "as long as it's sincere." He said he hadn't seen enough of the satanist or skeptic groups' proposals to determine if they were sincere.
Martin appointed Commissioners Randall Bynum, Julie Harris and Dave Roberts to the committee that will review plans for the wall proposed by the Saline Atheist & Skeptic Society and the Gold Star family monument, proposed by the Marine Corps League and Arkansas Run for the Fallen. The committee will hold its first meeting Nov. 10.
The other committee, which will review the Ten Commandments and Baphomet statues, includes Commissioners Kelly VanHook, Melonaie Gullick and Tony Leraris. They plan to meet Oct. 12.
A Section on 09/14/2016