Pro-Commandments Groups Active on Legislative Fronts
by Bill Fancher
January 19, 2004
(AgapePress) - A public-interest legal organization is about to launch an effort that, if successful, would mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in state buildings.The Southeastern Legal Foundation's Todd Young has unveiled a new strategy for displaying the Ten Commandments. The "American Religious and Legal Heritage Project," he says, is an attempt to develop "blueprint legislation" for states to consider and adopt that would mandate the placement of the Ten Commandments and other historically significant documents for the United States in courthouses and public buildings throughout the nation.
Young says the project will kick off soon. "Within the next two weeks, we're going to be announcing our plan and offering our first draft proposal for the governor of the State of Georgia, who's already indicated early support for such a resolution," he says.
"And we have made inroads to several other states, both on the East Coast and in the West, to start this process -- and we believe ultimately we'll see as many as 30 to 35 states adopting such laws."
The Southeastern Legal Foundation is the pro-active group that managed to get former President Bill Clinton disbarred from the law profession in Arkansas.
A Unifying Force
Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition told a press conference in Washington last week that the fight over public display of the Ten Commandments has done what diversity programs have failed to do.
"I think there is this false perception out there that if we allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed publicly, it would somehow divide or harm or be offensive," Mahoney says. "That is simply not the case. It unites -- it connects our culture and society."
The activist says defense of the Commandments has unified groups and individuals that cover the spectrum of the nation. Their common goal, he says, has removed religious, racial, social, political, and even cultural boundaries. "I can report to you that we are seeing extraordinary things across the country of groups coming together, putting the Ten Commandments in buildings and libraries," he says.
Mahoney returned recently from Boise, Idaho, where he reports the state legislature is proposing legislation in the next two months that will ask that the Ten Commandments be posted within the State Capitol.
