Oklahoma’s governor says she will not take down the Ten Commandments monument despite a state Supreme Court ruling that demands the monument be removed.
Gov. Mary Fallin said this week that the monument will stay while an appeal is filed, according to Christian News Network.
“The Ten Commandments monument was built to recognize and honor the historical significance of the Commandments in our state’s and nation’s systems of laws,” she wrote in a statement.
“The monument was built and maintained with private dollars. It is virtually identical to a monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol which the United States Supreme Court ruled to be permissible,” Fallin added. “It is a privately funded tribute to historical events, not a taxpayer funded endorsement of any religion, as some have alleged.”
In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed suit against the display, arguing that the monument was unconstitutional.
Then a New York-based Satanist group tried to build a “homage to Satan” near the monument.
In September 2014, Seventh District Court Judge Thomas Prince ruled that the monument was historical, but then the case went to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Court ruled last week that the monument violated the Oklahoma constitution because it “promotes a church denomination or system of religion.”
Fallin said she hopes the final decision will mean a vote from the people of Oklahoma.
Publication date: July 14, 2015
