By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels over his rejection of a group’s proposal for a “winter solstice” display at the Capitol.
Last month, Daniels rejected the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers’ written application to put up a display that would describe the meaning and history of the winter solstice. According to the ACLU, Daniels’ office informed the freethinkers that the proposed display did not have the proper tone and was not consistent with other displays and decorations at the Capitol.
Daniels spokeswoman Natasha Naragon confirmed that the display was rejected for those reasons but said she could not comment further because of the pending litigation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, alleges that the free speech rights of the freethinkers have been violated. It seeks a declaration that Daniels’ decision was unconstitutional, an injunction barring Daniels from refusing the display and attorney’s fees.
The freethinkers first applied to put up a winter solstice display at the Capitol last year and were turned down because, Naragon said at the time, the application was unclear about details of the display.
Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said today that this year the freethinkers submitted an application that met all of Daniels’ requirements, but still the application was rejected.
Sklar said the secretary of state’s office has a written policy that allows anyone to apply to put up a display.
“This is about equal treatment and freedom of expression. If you set up a public forum, you cannot discriminate based on viewpoint,” she said.
One display that Daniels has approved for the Capitol grounds is a nativity scene erected each Christmas season by a nonprofit group.
The Society of Freethinkers has objected in the past to the nativity scene, arguing that it violates the separation of church and state.
“We wish the secretary of state respected the beliefs and ideas of everyone in the state equally,” Sklar said.
