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Two Religious Displays On Their Way To Government Property

By Howard M. Friedman

While a number of governmental units this year are removing religious displays (see prior posting), there is some movement in the opposite direction. Reports from the Oklahoman and AP indicate that last Thursday the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Committee voted to implement a law passed by the legislature earlier this year (see prior posting) to place a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the State Capitol. It will be placed on an existing raised walkway on the north side of the building. The Commission chairman said he hoped this would start a long-planned development of that area for additional monuments and sculptures. While the 10th Circuit earlier this year struck down a Ten Commandments display on the grounds of an Oklahoma county courthouse (see prior posting), drafters of the state law hope to avoid a similar fate by calling for a monument identical to the one upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 in Van Orden v. Perry.

Meanwhile the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Commissioners are working to restore a nativity scene and menorah removed last week from the courthouse lawn after a complaint by the ACLU and Americans United. (See prior posting.) A local Wilkes-Barre law firm is contributing $1000 and offering its legal services free of charge to develop a display that meets constitutional standards by also including non-religious elements. According to yesterday's Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice, an ACLU staff attorney said: "We applaud the county for wanting to comply with the law and we'll see how they do."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 20, 2009 (boomark / email).