by Stan Griffin
Once again, the Ten Commandments have been the focal point of controversy, this time in Alabama. The newest battleground in the conflict over their display on public ground was in the state capital of Montgomery.
After a legal tug-of-war marked by a series of court decisions involving
judges of the Alabama Supreme Court and a federal District Court justice, and
amid daily protest demonstrations on the steps of the state Judicial Building,
the question was resolved (August 27) when a work crew wheeled away a
5,300-pound monument of the Ten Commandments from the building’s rotunda
into a storage area somewhere in the same structure.
Two years ago, State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore brought a 5,300-pound granite monument of the Ten Commandments into the rotunda of the state Judicial Building. He chose to do that very early one morning. Three lawyers found this display inappropriate and filed suit.
After several court decisions and appeals, all of which went against Moore, a deadline of August 20 was set for removal of the monument. The federal court based its decision on the U.S. Constitution’s ban on government promotion of a religious doctrine. Moore’s lawyers filed an emergency writ with the U. S. Supreme Court, asking them to set aside the lower courts’ rulings. In a one-sentence decision, the high court refused to block removal of the monument. (The deadline was changed to August 25.) U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson threatened to fine the state $5,000 a day if they did not remove the statue from the rotunda. He said he would approve moving it to a less public site in the same building,
Moore seems ready to challenge the court order and continue his defiance. Other Alabama officials, including the state’s Attorney-General expressed a different view. Moore’s eight fellow Alabama judges also took an opposing position by overruling him and ordering the monument removed. Moore was suspended from his position, and an ethics complaint was referred to the Court of the Judiciary.
A candlelight vigil was held on the courthouse steps by hundreds of supporters of Judge Moore, beginning early Wednesday morning (August 20). Around-the-clock demonstrations organized by the Christian Defense Coalition continued until the monument was moved. Some of the men and women taking part proclaimed they were ready to protest with "civil disobedience" and " ... go to jail if necessary ..." Twenty-one were arrested on the first day for trespassing and for refusing to leave the monument when it was closing time. On August 28 (the day after the monument was taken away), over a thousand supporters rallied on the steps, the most since their vigil began two weeks earlier.
Among Moore’s opponents were Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the First Amendment Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a national Atheist group, and the American Civil Liberties Union. One of his critics has said, " ... compliance will promote the public interest and uphold the integrity of the federal judiciary in the face of (Moore’s) attack ..."
Supporters have said things like, " ... Montgomery has become a line in the sand," " ...He (Moore) is developing a movement to return the nation to biblical law ...," " He (Moore) is star of the movement ..." and " .. (He is the) right man in the right place at the right time ..." In defending his actions, Judge Moore stated he was "defending our Constitutional right to acknowledge God" and that " ... the monument represented the moral foundation of American law ..."
The U. S. Supreme Court in 1980 barred the Ten Commandments from classroom walls in public schools but so far have never ruled on the constitutionality of indoor and outdoor government displays.
Judge Moore, age 56, has a very colorful past. The son of a construction worker, he grew up in northeast Alabama and worshipped at a Baptist church, " ... just a nice little country church ..." Known as "The Ten Commandments Judge," he has been a kick boxer, a ranch hand in Australia, and an officer in Vietnam. (He graduated from West Point). Entering politics as a Democrat, in the late 1980s he changed parties and eventually became the first Republican judge in Etowah County (1992).
Moore gained national publicity in 1995 when he hung a hand-carved copy of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom and had ministers open each session with a prayer. In 2000 Moore was elected Chief Justice of Alabama’s high court; and nine months later he brought in the disputed monument.
The governor of Alabama, Bob Riley, supports Moore and hopes the removal is "brief and temporary." Apparently a large number of Alabama residents feel the same way. In a poll taken in July, 77% approved of the monument staying where Moore put it.