Ten Commandments bill moves forward

ATLANTA - House lawmakers Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a measure - co-authoried by a member of the Hall County delegation - that allows courthouses to display copies of the Ten Commandments, after hours of debate tinged with religious fervor.

The proposal to allow counties to display historical documents on public property passed by a 140-26 vote.

The bill's backers said the Ten Commandments and other principles that guide the state's judicial system deserve to be publicly displayed if a county wishes.

"We feel there's a real need to educate the public on the history and background to American law," said state Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson. "The best place to display the documents is the courthouses and judicial buildings in counties."

Opponents said the bill would likely cost the state millions in legal fees to defend challenges in court. In a split decision, the U.S. Supreme Court last year declared two courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky unconstitutional.

Some also expressed concern with the measure's language, which also specifically permits the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to be displayed.

"If we lump the Bible with the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence, are we demeaning the Bible?" said state Rep. Frank Millar, R-Dunwoody. "I don't think the Bible belongs in that context." He added that he's more concerned with bolstering the state's education system "than where we hang the Ten Commandments."

The proposal now moves to the Senate.

Republicans said they were "hurt" and "offended" that a Ten Commandments bill even needs to be introduced.

"I do not think it's good or right to say we can't display the Ten Commandments unless we surround it with historic secular documents," said state Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Marietta Republican who once passed out framed copies of the tablet to every Georgia lawmaker. "If federal judges would simply interpret the words of the Constitution instead of amending it and rewriting it from the bench, they'd hold the same view."

Opponents rejected the use of religion to back the bill.

"The God we serve really and truly doesn't need the General Assembly to do his bidding," said state Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany.

The measure was prompted after public postings of the Ten Commandments sparked controversy in Barrow County.

In 2003, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to remove a Ten Commandments plaque displayed at the Barrow County courthouse.

In July, Senior U.S. District Court Judge William C. O'Kelley ordered the plaque taken down, prohibiting what he said was "any substantially similar and unconstitutional presentation of the Ten Commandments" in the county courthouse." The county complied and decided not to appeal.

The U.S. Supreme Court held the courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky were unconstitutional a granite religious monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol was permissible. The high court said the key to whether a display is constitutional hinges on whether there is a religious purpose behind it or if it is instead intended to honor the nation's legal traditions.