WINDER - Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore has joined Barrow County officials who are fighting a lawsuit challenging a Ten Commandments plaque in the courthouse.
Moore, who was suspended for refusing a federal judge's order to remove a Commandments monument from the Alabama Judicial Building, spoke Thursday night at a $50-a-plate dinner to raise money to oppose the ACLU lawsuit.
"Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle," Moore told an estimated 400 people. "We do need an army and every one of you are in it."
The event was sponsored by Ten Commandments-Georgia Inc., formed to help the Barrow County government fight the ACLU lawsuit, and by Moore's own organization, The Foundation for Moral Law, to spur donations.
County Commissioner Bill Brown said Moore's visit would revitalize interest in the case and bring in even more money to preserve the plaque.
Moore said the issue is about more than whether the Ten Commandments can be displayed in public buildings. "The question is, can the state acknowledge God?," he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the federal lawsuit almost a year ago. Since spring, it has languished in federal court in Gainesville during a long discovery process, in which both sides disclose information and evidence. That is expected to end next week, and the trial should begin sometime this fall.
To date, Ten Commandments-Georgia Inc. has raised about $150,000 to defend the lawsuit. County Commission Chairman Doug Garrison opposes using tax money.
In April, Commissioner Brown admitted that he put up the framed copy of the Commandments anonymously in the spring or summer of 2002, never expecting the publicity or the lawsuit. He said the display was donated by a local resident.
Thursday
January 30th, 2025
3:21AM
