State Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, presides over a Senate committee on the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., on March 14, 2018. Repaert has settled a lawsuit over his social media habits. Kelly P. Kissel, Related Press
A company devoted to defending the rights of atheists introduced Wednesday that it settled its lawsuit in opposition to Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert, whom it sued in 2018 over his social media habits.
As a part of the settlement, Rapert agreed to unblock atheist constituents on social media, and the state of Arkansas agreed to pay the group, American Atheists, greater than $16,000 on the senator’s behalf.
“This can be a victory for freedom of speech and equality for atheists,” stated Geoffrey T. Blackwell, litigation counsel for American Atheists, in an announcement.
Within the 2018 lawsuit, American Atheists accused Rapert of violating the Structure’s First and 14th Amendments, along with Arkansas state legislation. The group argued that “authorities officers can’t restrict participation in public boards because of differing beliefs,” based on KATV, a tv station in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“The criticism states plaintiffs have been blocked when voicing criticism of his assaults on members of the LGBTQ neighborhood, the senator’s help of a invoice to require the show of “In God We Belief” in all Arkansas public faculty lecture rooms and libraries, his help for a Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds and extra,” KATV reported in 2018.
Along with being a state senator, Rapert is the founder and president of the Nationwide Affiliation of Christian Lawmakers, which works to “restore the Judeo-Christian foundations of our authorities,” as he informed the Deseret Information final yr.
By means of that group, Rapert has developed relationships with policymakers throughout the nation; the group members usually share mannequin laws on points like abortion and non secular freedom.
The group permits “native, state and federal officers to debate and debate the main coverage problems with this nation from a biblical worldview,” Rapert informed the Deseret Information.
In its assertion, American Atheists’ additionally criticized the Nationwide Affiliation of Christian Lawmakers, arguing that it’s exclusionary.