May 21, 2013
Oklahoma attorney general expects challenge to monument law
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's attorney general says a federal
appeals court ruling against a Ten Commandments monument at the
Haskell County Courthouse bodes poorly for a state law authorizing a similar display on the state Capitol grounds.
Attorney General Drew Edmondson says he fully expects a legal
challenge to placement of a privately funded Ten Commandments
monument at the Oklahoma Capitol.
On Monday, a three-judge panel ruled the Haskell County monument, also privately funded, was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion based on comments made by county commissioners.
But the House author of the new Oklahoma law, state Rep. Mike Ritze, has been careful not to refer to the Ten Commandments monument as a religious display, saying instead that he's motivated by the historical context of the Ten Commandments.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
