once again, it’s up to henry
05/12/2009
the oklahoma state senate has blatantly disregarded the state constitution and passed a bill to allow the ten commandments to be displayed at the state capitol (article).
oklahoma constitution – bill of rights
section ii-5: public money or property – use for sectarian purposes.
no public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.
somehow i don’t think that gov. brad henry will come to the rescue again the way he did with the whole flaming lips debacle a few weeks back. i understand the ten comandments historical connotation. i also understand that it is a religious documant that has no business on the capitol grounds. that capitol represents all oklahomans, not just christian’s that call this state home. i can only imagine the outcry we would hear over the display of a pagan symbol or (gasp!) islamic document in this manner. do the right thing mr. henry…veto the bill.
05/12/2009 at 9:31 am
I cannot agree more that this should be vetoed. It should not even be an issue. Doesn’t our legislature have bigger things to focus on? It’s just ridiculous.
05/12/2009 at 9:35 am
he won’t touch it other than to sign it. Even the tribes go to church, or at least tell there people to go.
05/12/2009 at 9:39 am
it’s not a matter of whether or not you go to church. it’s a matter of respecting the state constitution, and respecting the people that do not believe the way that you do. sadly, christians (generally) like to force their beliefs on the masses, rather than understand that there are plenty of good people that don’t believe as they do.
05/12/2009 at 9:51 am
Henry also had to veto the stem cell research ban. The legislature is getting out of control, and pushing a clearly religious agenda.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-gov.-brad-henry-vetoes-stem-cell-bill/article/3363675?custom_click=lead_story_title
05/12/2009 at 9:53 am
that’s right! i had forgotten the whole stem cell thing. sad that it has to fall to him to save us from dogmatic shortsightedness.
05/12/2009 at 9:58 am
I blogged about this when the bill was first introduced back in Feb, and I’m not surprised it made it to Henry. I really doubt he’ll veto it, although I’m hopeful. I’m hoping the ACLU is already working on filing a lawsuit.
The wording in the bill tries to make it legal by using Von Orden v. Perry as a model. While that case is similar in that it involved a Ten Commandments monument on state property, ours is different in it’s intentions.
05/20/2009 at 1:25 pm
[...] heard about the 10 Commandments monument, I had a glimmer of hope that Governor Henry would realize it’s unconstitutional, but come on…this is Oklahoma after all. He signed HB 1330 [...]
05/23/2009 at 11:34 am
I do not believe that the section of the Oklahoma constitution that you cite was intended, or actually can be interrupted, to preclude a display of the ten commandments. The section of the constitution, as I read it, was intended to preclude the State of Oklahoma from funding a specific church, sect or related individual.
That is not what is happening with the display.
Following your logic; A statute that would make stealing illegal would be “unconstitutional” as “thou shall not steal” is part of the ten commandments. Your position is that its biblical source would be part of a specific religious belief, and per your interpretation of the Oklahoma constitution would be precluded. Simply having a biblical source of reference does not make something “unconstitutional” per the section that you cite.