One would think that Americans would want a plaque of the U.S. Constitution on the wall of their courthouse; rather than the Ten Commandments. But such is not the case in the South, as Christian yahoos persist in turning this country into a religious state; contrary to the establishment of the Republic according to our Founding Fathers. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Dixie County officials will appeal a federal judge’s order to remove a six-ton monument displaying the Ten Commandments in the front of their courthouse building.
County Commissioners voted 5-0 last week to appeal and also seek a stay in Judge Maurice Paul’s decision requiring the granite monument be removed from the courthouse in Cross City.
The county’s appeal to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals claims that Paul’s ruling quashes private speech in a public forum, since the monument was paid for by a private citizen. The county also wants the appeals court to determine if plaintiffs in the case who do not live in the area have a right to sue. They contend the monument does not represent an official endorsement of religion.
Nearly identical monuments are also in place at the city hall in Chiefland and the Levy County Courthouse at Bronson, both within a short drive of Cross City in north Florida.
The monument in front of the Dixie County Courthouse was built and paid for by paving contractor Joe Anderson Jr. of Old Town, whose request to give Gilchrist County the same monument at its courthouse in Trenton was approved by their county commissioners in May.
Paul decided in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union Florida which brought the suit in 2007. The ACLUF argued that an official government display of a religious monument violates a clause in the First Amendment that prohibits the government from promoting religious messages.
“Despite the actual ownership of the monument, the location and permanent nature of the display make it clear to all reasonable observers that Dixie County chooses to be associated with the message being conveyed,” Paul agreed.
