Ten Commandments Decision Prompts Conservative Outcry

The office of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt argued the monument should remain, citing a 2005 case in which the US Supreme Court said the presence of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol did not violate the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause.

The first plan by the group advocating for separation of church and state was scuttled by the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling barring all religious monuments.

Fallin said the monument will remain at the Capitol while legal appeals and potential legislative and constitutional changes are considered.

“We need to restore the balance in our state government and not put up with this kind of judicial tyranny”, Rep. Calvey said. “The display of such an overtly religious monument violates the Constitution and makes individuals of minority faiths and philosophies feel like second-class citizens in their own state”. “This is historical heritage of our birth as a nation and birth as a state”.

“I think the idea that you go about amending the constitution every time you lose a court battle is a risky precedent for anyone to engage in, but in particular for the state’s highest attorney to do so”, he told the AP.

Lawmakers are fighting to keep the Ten Commandments Monument outside the Oklahoma State Capitol.

“We’re living in a time when our country is not only blatantly defying God’s laws, but is trying to remove them completely from public view”.

The Baphomet monument is set to be unveiled later this month, and the Satanic Temple said a new home will be found for it. Even though the Satanists have to move on from Oklahoma, the Satanic Temple claimed the ruling as a win. “In addition, it could lead to individuals on state funded insurance programs being unable to receive medical care as a large portion of hospitals in Oklahoma are supported by a religious affiliation”.

But Ritze said that he never intended for the symbol to be seen as religious, instead calling it a historical necessity that provides context for all citizens regarding the emergence and crafting of American law.

The Oklahoma Legislature won’t be back in session until February, and any amendment to the constitution would have to be submitted to a vote of the people. “[If not], then potentially there will be an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court”.