Written by Don Byrd
A controversial Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol will stay in place for now, after a judge dismissed a lawsuit that argued the display violates the separation of church and state. One of the plaintiffs in the case, Rev. Bruce Prescott, is a Baptist minister.
Associated Press reports:
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of the Rev. Bruce Prescott of Norman, a Baptist minister, and others who allege the monument’s location violated the state constitution’s ban against using public property to support “any sect, church, denomination or system of religion.”
[Judge] Prince disagreed, ruling that the monument serves a secular – not religious – purpose and occupies a small plot on the north side of the state Capitol that’s part of a 100-acre complex which has 51 other monuments.
The ACLU plans to appeal the ruling.
