Ten Commandments Monument Removed in Minn.

AP ^ | May 15, 2004

[jwalburg]

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A Ten Commandments monument that stood on the lawn of City Hall for 47 years has been removed after a federal judge said its presence violated the separation of church and state.

The 1,600-pound hunk of granite was taken Friday to a garage that houses the city's historical memorabilia.

Calls to the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which had sued the city to have the statue removed, and the city attorney were not immediately returned Saturday.

The monument was donated to Duluth by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles in 1957. The Eagles gave similar monuments to many American towns during the '50s and '60s to encourage good morals and promote Cecil B. DeMille's movie, "The Ten Commandments."

The city of Duluth agreed to remove the monument after the ACLU sued in February, saying the statue was unconstitutional. A federal judge approved the deal Thursday.

Ten Commandments statues have become the focus of similar lawsuits across the country, in states including Nebraska, Washington and Alabama.

[jwalburg]

Some day not long in the future, some state workers will dig far back in a city warehouse, find this old, dusty relic and examine it in wonder. No one will know what it is, but they will try to sell it on Ebay.

[farmfriend]

And our heritage dies a little more.

[Hacksaw]

Any idea who the FedJudge was?

[momfirst]

was taken Friday to a garage that houses the city's historical memorabilia

A garage? What a beautiful place to put the cities "historical memorabilia"...

[jwalburg]

I've looked at several Minn. papers and none ID's the judge.

[Rebelbase]

[winker]

Activist Traitor!

[Cobra64]

My wife's sister and brother-n-law are devout Roman Catholics. They are also devout Left Democrats. I showed this to my wife and said, "Well, your family in MN are getting exactly what they deserve. It's a flippin shame, but they vote for people like this and now the 10 Commandments, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of The United States of America will be total history at the end of this decade." Oh well.............

[FoxInSocks]

Indiana: The Ark of the Covenant, the chest that the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments.

Major Eaton: What, you mean THE Ten Commandments?

Indiana: Yes, the actual Ten Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Arat and smashed, if you believe in that sort of thing...

[officers stare at him blankly]

Indiana: Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?

[WorkingClassFilth]

"My wife's sister and brother-n-law are devout Roman Catholics. They are also devout Left Democrats."

How's that one work when it's the RATs that hate the Catholic faith and like to make smoothies by blenderizing babies?

I know a few like this but to a person they are ill-informed morons that know nothing beyond where to find the last beer in the fridge.

[WorkingClassFilth]

"...the actual Ten Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Arat and smashed, if you believe in that sort of thing..."

Looks like Indy didn't go either. Moses brought the tablets down from Mount Sinai. It was Noah that landed in the ark (the boat) on Mount Ararat.

[aimhigh]

Today they come for symbols. Soon they will be coming for the real thing - Christians.

[The Bandit]

My goodness, and to look at them old paintings and B&W photos of early court rooms, during the times of Madicon, Jefferson, Lincoln...with the cross and images of christ and bibical verses written all over court rooms and behind the Judges seat...makes you wonder when the constitution was ratified by all the states to prohibit such displays!

Note to FreeRepublic Mod: I didn't once question Sen Kerry's credibility in this post, no need to remove my comment.

[hedgetrimmer]

Is cultural preservation unconstitutional? Because thats what this federal judge is saying. The 10 commandments are a cultural icon and the federal government is committing cultural destruction by ordering the monument down.

[StACase]

Today they come for symbols. Soon they will be coming for the real thing - Christians.

Best Bumper Sticker/Tag Line I've seen in a long time.

[DManA]

The state capital has a giant mural of God delivering the 10 commandments to Moses. Why aren't these pigs down there with buckets of white wash demanding that be expunged? What's the difference - in principle?

[joyce11111]

This is a sad sad story...we lose it little more each day.

[Nowhere Man]

Some day not long in the future, some state workers will dig far back in a city warehouse, find this old, dusty relic and examine it in wonder. No one will know what it is, but they will try to sell it on Ebay.

Well, 20, 30 or 40 years ago, I could have foreseen something like this happening after some sort of "Atomic Wars," but sadly, I sometimes wonder if our nation as we know it will be destroyed and it will not take any "atomic war" to do it but rotting from within. What I find amazing is that it is OK for a mosque in Detroit to blast pray calls at 1500 decibels but to have the Ten Commandments displayed, "Uncle forbid! *"

* - Taken from Robert A. Heinlein's novel "Farnham's Freehold" where 2000+ years after a nuclear exchange, what was left of the Third World dominates the planet and they called their god "Uncle."

[cmotormac44]

you probably gave them an idea---the mural will be next

[DManA]

No, they pick their battles very cleverly. Small town with a communist city council is a no brainer. Go after the state capital, some people with some depth would need to be dealt with. And besides, the mural's "just" art.