'Ten Commandments' Judge Says The Monument Stays(CNSNews.com) - "I have no plans to remove the monument," said Alabama's "Ten Commandments Judge" at a press conference on Tuesday.
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore said he plans to appeal Monday's federal court ruling ordering him to remove the two-and-a-half ton granite monument he installed in a state government building one night last summer. The monument features a tablet on which the Ten Commandments are written.
In Monday's ruling, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said Moore had created "a religious sanctuary within the walls of a courthouse." He reportedly gave Moore 30 days to remove the monument, but at Tuesday's press conference Moore said "there is no order in existence at this time to remove the monument."
Moore insists that the Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of law. On Tuesday, he noted that the first sentence of the Alabama Constitution invokes the guidance of "almighty God," and likewise, he said, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution had only one purpose - "to allow the freedom to worship that God upon which this nation was founded."
Moore said that he, like all judges, is sworn to uphold the state and federal constitutions. "Those constitutions are premised on the belief in God. I am bound by my conscience to acknowledge that God on whom [my] oath depends. I am committed to do my duty."