Posted on 07/01/2003 2:47:12 PM PDT by Lurking Libertarian
ATLANTA - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Ten Commandments monument the size of a washing machine must be removed from the Alabama Supreme Court building.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a ruling by a federal judge who said that the 2 1/2-ton granite monument, placed there by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
[snip]
Moore put the monument in the rotunda of the courthouse in the middle of the night two summers ago. The monument features tablets bearing the Ten Commandments and historical quotations about the place of God in law.
[click link to read remainder of article]
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The decision is by Judge Carnes, a Bush Sr. appointee. The two concurring judges were appointed by Clinton and Reagan.
Great. We're getting screwed by our own guys...
So Federal judges see where this is going. One of them should have the guts to stop it before there is wide spread defiance.
This would be considered as "art", and protected under the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech for Christians isn't allowed.
Those ol'boys have probably invested in a gas oven manufacturer anyway on the outside chance that they can make a killing.
Or two men engaged in oral sex, of better yet a man giving oral sex to a male child.
This would warm the cockles of every alcu member's heart.
According to the court's opinion, Moore filed his own brief, in which he stated that, as Chief Justice of Alabama, he would have the final say as to whether the 11th Circuit's order was constitutional or not. Federal judges, including (especially?) conservative ones, do not take kindly to threats that their decisions will be defied, so they added some very pointed language saying that they "expect" Judge Moore to comply with their decision unless it is reversed by the Supreme Court, but that, "If necessary the court order will be enforced." That discussion is accompanied by citations to the court decisions from 1962 and 1963 which forced Governors Wallace and Barnett to obey school desegregation orders.
The Ten Commandments are every bit as much a part of the Christian religion as the Jewish religion. The Ten Commandments are taught in every Sunday School and Catholic CCD class in America.
If he does that, the court will hold him in contempt and order the Federal Marshal's Service to arrest him. I doubt that even Ashcroft will order the Marshalls to disobey the court. After all, most of the time the Department of Justice is the one that wants federal court orders obeyed.
Certainly you jest. The Ten Commandments has a singular and very clear source ~ it was part and parcel of the received truths handed down by Moses to the Hebrew people. Attacks on the Ten Commandments are invariably associated with attacks on Judaism.
Leftwingers and Liberals have been indulging themselves in anti-semitism in recent years, most noticeably in Europe, but also in this country. Unless they are called to account they will not stop just because they are on a federal court of appeals.
Besides, it's really not a legitimate act of any governmental body or official in this country to decide what is or is not religion. Those judges may have their own prejudices and personal beliefs, but they have no right to impose them on the rest of us.
The 11th Circuit cannot be respected by any honest citizen.
Can you imagine this happening here, in the United States? A person getting arrested on Federal felony charges for displaying the Ten Commandments? How much longer before Christians will be worshipping in the catacombs again? We need a President like Emperor Constantine, who will make Christianity legal again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.