Little Rock, Arkansas—Today, the church/state separation watchdog American Atheists praised the lawmakers on the Arkansas Senate Education Committee who rejected the controversial creationism bill (HB 1701) in a 3-3 vote yesterday evening. The Arkansas House had passed this unconstitutional bill on April 7, drawing national criticism and condemnation. Both Arkansas Department of Education Assistant Commissioner Stacy Smith and Senator Linda Chesterfield noted the impossibility of teaching a single creationist myth that isn’t based on a particular religious tradition. “There’s lots of creation theories out there [according to] different religions,” said Smith. Senator Chesterfield noted problems arising from Buddhist, Muslim, or Hindu public school instructors teaching their own creationist myths to Christian children.