Cobra
09-30-2006, 01:14 AM
I don't really mind the Ten Commandments being displayed in public places but using them to make some stupid political point or as a political tool is wrong IMO. I'd even go as far to say it's disrespectful to the faith.
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/sep/29/ten-commandments-monument-delayed/
FRANKFORT (AP) -- The state isn't ready to move forward with a proposal to place a Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol, an attorney said Thursday.
Officials haven't yet identified other historical displays or memorials to accompany the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol lawn, said Tom Self, an attorney in the Kentucky Office of Legal Services.
The news was met with disappointment from lawmakers who helped push a measure through the General Assembly that called for the Ten Commandments monument to be placed on the Capitol grounds and for the biblical directives to be posted in schools and government buildings across the state but only as part of larger historical displays.
"We want to do it correctly, constitutionally," said Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington. "I'm disappointed that we don't have everything in place already to do this, but I'm confident that with a little bit of persuasion the grounds can be made constitutionally acceptable for receipt of the Ten Commandments soon."
U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood wanted to review the state's plans before deciding whether the Ten Commandments monument should be allowed on government property.
"I would encourage the Justice Cabinet to move this process along as quickly as possible ... so that these monuments can be rightfully displayed on the Capitol grounds," said Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. "I'm not going to place a deadline on when I think it should be done. The Justice Cabinet needs to remember this was a high priority for the General Assembly because it's a high priority with our constituents."
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, flanked by state legislators, signed the measure into law in a Capitol ceremony in April. He said at the time that the Capitol display would be constitutional because it would be part of a historical exhibit.
The American Civil Liberties Union, however, immediately voiced opposition to the plan.
Kentucky has been at the center of legal fights in recent years on the posting of the commandments in public buildings. In one case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled displays inside courthouses in McCreary and Pulaski counties were unconstitutional. In another, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said a similar display in the Mercer County Courthouse is constitutional because it included other historical documents.
In the measure approved in April, lawmakers included a provision directing the return of a 6-foot-tall granite monument bearing the Ten Commandments. That monument now is on display outside a Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge in Hopkinsville in southwestern Kentucky.
Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Finance Cabinet, said the state was considering the creation of a garden that would contain various types of memorials and monuments of significance to Kentucky.
The Ten Commandments monument had been donated to the state in 1971 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The American Civil Liberties Union won a court case that resulted in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals finding the monument an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. After that, it was moved back to Hopkinsville.
ACLU attorney David Friedman said he will review the Justice Cabinet's court brief and will respond to it.
"The core point from our perspective is that whatever the specific plan, we believe and we hope to persuade the court that the legislative purpose for this bill was not secular," Friedman said.
"In our view, the purpose was simply to post the Ten Commandments. ... We think it's a thinly disguised sham, and the real purpose is religious, and we hope to persuade the court of that."
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/sep/29/ten-commandments-monument-delayed/
FRANKFORT (AP) -- The state isn't ready to move forward with a proposal to place a Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol, an attorney said Thursday.
Officials haven't yet identified other historical displays or memorials to accompany the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol lawn, said Tom Self, an attorney in the Kentucky Office of Legal Services.
The news was met with disappointment from lawmakers who helped push a measure through the General Assembly that called for the Ten Commandments monument to be placed on the Capitol grounds and for the biblical directives to be posted in schools and government buildings across the state but only as part of larger historical displays.
"We want to do it correctly, constitutionally," said Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington. "I'm disappointed that we don't have everything in place already to do this, but I'm confident that with a little bit of persuasion the grounds can be made constitutionally acceptable for receipt of the Ten Commandments soon."
U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood wanted to review the state's plans before deciding whether the Ten Commandments monument should be allowed on government property.
"I would encourage the Justice Cabinet to move this process along as quickly as possible ... so that these monuments can be rightfully displayed on the Capitol grounds," said Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. "I'm not going to place a deadline on when I think it should be done. The Justice Cabinet needs to remember this was a high priority for the General Assembly because it's a high priority with our constituents."
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, flanked by state legislators, signed the measure into law in a Capitol ceremony in April. He said at the time that the Capitol display would be constitutional because it would be part of a historical exhibit.
The American Civil Liberties Union, however, immediately voiced opposition to the plan.
Kentucky has been at the center of legal fights in recent years on the posting of the commandments in public buildings. In one case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled displays inside courthouses in McCreary and Pulaski counties were unconstitutional. In another, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said a similar display in the Mercer County Courthouse is constitutional because it included other historical documents.
In the measure approved in April, lawmakers included a provision directing the return of a 6-foot-tall granite monument bearing the Ten Commandments. That monument now is on display outside a Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge in Hopkinsville in southwestern Kentucky.
Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Finance Cabinet, said the state was considering the creation of a garden that would contain various types of memorials and monuments of significance to Kentucky.
The Ten Commandments monument had been donated to the state in 1971 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The American Civil Liberties Union won a court case that resulted in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals finding the monument an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. After that, it was moved back to Hopkinsville.
ACLU attorney David Friedman said he will review the Justice Cabinet's court brief and will respond to it.
"The core point from our perspective is that whatever the specific plan, we believe and we hope to persuade the court that the legislative purpose for this bill was not secular," Friedman said.
"In our view, the purpose was simply to post the Ten Commandments. ... We think it's a thinly disguised sham, and the real purpose is religious, and we hope to persuade the court of that."