Winston-Salem councilman Vernon Robinson
Posted on 01/21/2004 12:51:19 AM PST by JohnHuang2
LAW OF THE LAND
N.C. Commandments monument removed
U.S. House candidate inspired by Judge Moore installed it at city hall
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
A Ten Commandments monument inspired by ousted Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore was removed from a North Carolina city hall one day after it was installed by a council member.
Winston-Salem councilman Vernon Robinson |
Vernon Robinson, a candidate for a vacant U.S. House seat, said he paid $2,000 out of his personal funds to install the monument at the Winston-Salem city hall, which was deserted because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
The paper said a seven-man crew removed the one-ton granite block late this morning on the order of City Manager Bill Stuart. A backhoe carried the two-piece marker to a trailer attached to a city truck, which moved it to a warehouse where it will stay until Robinson comes to claim it.
Carrie Collins, the city's marketing and communications director, said city officials had not decided whether Robinson would pay for its removal.
Robinson's spokesman, Chris Younce, said the councilman was conferring with city officials and would be at the city council's meeting tonight, the Journal reported.
The monument's installation violated city policies requiring any display honoring public officials to be approved by the council and to have permission from the city manager to install it.
The councilman said he decided to install the monument after speaking in October with Moore, who was ousted as chief justice last November after refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's state judicial building.
"This display is intended to acknowledge the undeniable role that the Ten Commandments and Bill of Rights have played in developing the American legal tradition," Robinson said, according to the Associated Press. "These are the ideas on which society has been built and these works encapsulate the belief system on which the republic was founded."
Robinson's five-foot tall monument has the Ten Commandments inscribed on one side facing Main Street and an abbreviated version of the Bill of Rights on the side facing city hall.
The city council member said he wanted the monument to be a surprise to the city's citizens and insisted he had no thought of what effect it would have on his campaign for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District, the Winston-Salem paper said.
 Ten Commandments monument paid for by city council member (Photo: Winston-Salem Journal) |
Robinson said he and four helpers set up the monument on the holiday because the adjoining parking lot was empty, allowing moving equipment to position the blue-granite block. But city officials criticized his actions, especially during a time when the community was celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"Obviously if you are going to do something like this, this is not the right way to do it," Mayor Allen Joines said, according to the Journal. "We are working hard to bring the city together. Actions like this tend to push people apart."
City Council Member Dan Besse called it "another political stunt."
The Winston-Salem paper said Robinson's peers often have complained about grandstanding and campaigning from his council seat.
Robinson said he didn't seek permission to put up the monument because he didn't know the procedure, although he admitted he came up with the idea in October.
He said he believes the marker is constitutional because it is not publicly funded or overtly religious.
"This monument is not an effort to proselytize; it is a history lesson," he said, according to the Winston-Salem daily. "Atheists may complain about history, but the words are still history."
Robinson said he did not think it would have any effect on the campaign, but supporters of the public display of the Ten Commandments said they were not so sure.
"I don't know that this kind of grandstanding promotes the understanding of our heritage," said state Sen. Virginia Fox, according to the Journal, adding it would be more sincere if it was erected by someone not running for office.
The honorary chairman for Robinson's campaign is former senator and vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp, who calls him a "true Ronald Reagan conservative."
Kemp said Robinson has "led the fight for school choice, less government spending, and pro-growth tax cuts in North Carolina for many years."
Demonstrating that Roy Moore is not the only one who uses The Commandments as a political prop.
Which is why I'm for amending the constitution to further define religion as a belief in the one true God, our creator and outlawing deathcults, mysticism and witchcraft.
If not, you just enjoy spitting in His face in public. So forgive me if I misread you.
There was nothing wrong with the sentiment itself. Robinson made a statement by ignoring procedure. He should voluntarily pay for the removal of the monument.
If they don't that, they should stay home or move somewhere where the culture doesn't mind being spiritual death and eventual destruction.
What you're witnessing is a bastardization of the law, both in fact and in spirit. This was never the intent of the 1st and everyone knows it.
However, we as a nation are collectively breaking the "law" when we've twisted our constitution to interpret cleansing our God from all things public. Not to mention the fact that we're breaking God's law (which was the foundation of our legal system).
For this we will pay dearly, as have all others before us. Unless of course we change our ways.
Not for anything but I would move to Israel if they ever got a clue as to why it is they exist.
You can call me a bigot if you like. You've been led astray to believe it charitable to allow evil to gain a foothold in a country where God once smiled upon.
You have a problem sir.
I mean that.
Stoopid is as Stoopid does! Blackbird.
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