Court Orders 10 Commandments Monument Taken Down At Oklahoma Capitol


The Supreme Court of Oklahoma has ordered that a monument of the Ten Commandments be taken down from outside the front of the state capitol.

Per the ruling of Oklahoma’s Supreme Court, the monument must be removed because it indirectly benefits the Jewish and Christian faiths in violation of the state’s constitution, per KOCO.

The ruling was handed down on Tuesday and states that the Oklahoma Constitution bans the usage of pubic property to benefit a religion. Including in the ruling, it states that the Ten Commandments are “obviously religious in nature.”

The 7-2 ruling overturned a decision by a district court judge who had determined that the monument could stay in place. Attorney General Scott Pruitt had argued that the monument was historical in nature, and not specifically religious.

Pruitt also argued that the Ten Commandments monument was almost identical to one that was in Texas and found constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s said that the monument violates the constitution of Oklahoma, not of the United States.

Pruitt does not agree with the decision.

“Quite simply, the Oklahoma Supreme Court got it wrong. The court completely ignored the profound historical impact of the Ten Commandments on the foundation of Western law.”

Per the Associated Press, a rehearing is going to be requested. Pruitt also wants to make a request that the Ten Commandments monument stay in place until the court takes the time to consider his request for a rehearing.

The monument was erected back in 2012, and a number of other groups have made requests to have their own monuments put up on the grounds of the Capitol. One group requested a seven-foot-tall statue of Satan as Baphomet, a goat-headed figure with wings, horns, and a beard.

Other requests for monuments have come from animal rights groups, a Hindu leader, and even the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Last last year, the original Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma was destroyed and smashed into pieces when a car crashed into it. The following day, a 29-year-old man was arrested and admitted to a hospital to seek mental health treatment.

In January of 2015, a new monument was built and erected back out front of the Oklahoma state capitol.

For now, the ruling has been made to take down the Ten Commandments monument outside the Oklahoma state capitol. A fight is still in place to keep it in place, but it’s going to be a lengthy battle and one that will likely be met with plenty of opposition.

[Image via KOCO]

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