Movers Haul Away Ten Commandments in Montgomery

FOXNews.com ^ | Wednesday, August 27, 2003

[NWO Slave]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A chorus of demonstrators joined an irate man in screaming "Put it back!" Wednesday morning after a monument of the Ten Commandments was wheeled away from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.

"Get your hands off our God, God haters!" yelled the wildly gesturing, red-faced man who initiated the chanting.

Workers used a dolly to move the 5,280-pound granite marker from the rotunda to another, undisclosed place in the courthouse building.

Meanwhile, a Wednesday afternoon hearing to consider a lawsuit to keep the monument in the rotunda was canceled.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Mobile on behalf of a Christian radio talk show host and a pastor, says forced removal of the monument would violate the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.

Christian Defense Coalition Director Patrick Mahoney told the crowd of demonstrators that he wasn't told where the monument had been taken.

Because of its size and weight, the marker was presumably moved to another location on the ground floor of the building.

Mahoney said the monument would not be covered, and that he would be allowed inside to see it once it was moved. Mahoney said he was informed of the plans by building manager Graham George.

Mahoney didn't know whether the monument's new location would be accessible to the public.

The federal court had said the monument could be in a private place in the building but not in the highly visible spot in the rotunda directly across from the building's entrance.

Protest organizers asked the crowd outside not to rush the building or do anything else except pray. Some people seemed to be listening, with dozens kneeling, bowing or lying face-down in prayer in front of the judicial building and on the steps before and after the monument's removal.

The marker was wheeled away in a matter of minutes.

A federal judge in Montgomery ruled last year that the monument, which Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (search) installed two years ago, violates the Constitution's ban on government promotion of religion and ordered its removal by Aug. 20. The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear Moore's appeal.

But Moore refused to comply. Eight associate justices voted Aug. 21 to remove the monument, and Moore was suspended the next day.

Attorney General Bill Pryor, defending the associate justices, filed a motion Tuesday afternoon to dismiss the latest lawsuit, saying the Mobile court lacks jurisdiction and the complaint lacks merit.

About 150 monument supporters marched on Pryor's office Tuesday, demanding he resign for supporting the associate justices' decision. Seven representatives were allowed inside to meet with Pryor's chief deputy for about 20 minutes. The rest remained outside, chanting, "Resign now! Resign now!"

Gatherings of pro-monument demonstrators outside the judicial building have grown each day in the past week to at times number in the hundreds.

People seeking removal of the monument from its public site had said they were grateful that it was finally being moved, a week after the deadline set by a federal judge.

"This is a tremendous victory for the rule of law and respect for religious diversity," the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said before the monument was rolled out of the rotunda. "Perhaps Roy Moore will soon leave the bench and move into the pulpit, which he seems better suited for."

Lynne's organization was among groups suing to remove Moore's monument, which he installed without telling the other eight Supreme Court justices.

Demonstrators promised to keep up their protests of the removal.

"If it takes 75 years to reclaim this land for righteousness, God find us and our children and our children's children ready," said the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the national clergy council.

Affirmative Action Judge Opposing Judge Roy Moore

[Lord_Baltar]

Ah, come on Rough, even people who live in Vacant Lots are entitled to give Gardening tips...

[rwfromkansas]

Thomas Jefferson wouldn't have.

[keats5]

"Really? I didn't realize they had the ORIGINAL 10 Commandment stones on display in Montgomery...

Seriously, If these are the Originals, that changes the whole thing... "

Do you really think it would make a difference?

[f.Christian]

It looks like the federal judiciary system from the ussc on down is ...

doing power sharing and pandering with liberals --- SOCIALISTS - fascists !

Thw American sharia ... mullahs --- ayatollahs !

[huck von finn]

I'm only reporting what I read. The guy brought it in in the middle of the night. You can draw your own conclusions.

[Lord_Baltar]

Huh?

[lugsoul]

"law really did start with the 10 Commandments"

You really ought to look into a guy named Hammurabi.

[MineralMan]

"Explain it any way you like, but atheists credit themselves as intellectually superior, though the educated ones will admit when pressed, they have no more positive basis for their convictions than the theist."

Not at all. I have no idea whether I'm intellectually superior to you or anyone else. You're right, of course, though about your second statement. I have no positive basis for my disbelief. That would be difficult, since it is not a belief, and therefore not a positive thing. You believe. That's fine. I'm not even asking you why. It's your right to believe whatever you wish. I encourage you to believe whatever you wish. I disbelieve. Why would I care what you believe?

[Liberal Classic]

Well, he didn't sneak it in under his coat. :)

[RoughDobermann]

LOL!

[MineralMan]

"Good. I was hoping for some context too. For example, was the child reading the Bible while the teacher was on another subject? If so, the teacher would have been correct in removing the bible from the child. Just as the teacher would be correct if the child was reading a comic book during math lessons..."

Well, I'm afraid I don't have any further context. But, apparently, neither does the person who brought it up. It's just one more nebulous example that never gets detailed. It's so sad.

[PleaseNoMore]

My son was told that he could not wear a tshirt to school because of it's religious content. The content of the shirt was taken from the book of Joel saying "in the last days I will pour my Spirit out upon all man". He got this shirt from a Christian summer camp. The principal told him that it was disruptive after a teacher sent him to the office to call me to bring him another shirt. I didn't bring him another shirt and he wore the shirt every day for the remainder of the week. Yes, we washed it every night. Because I asserted myself on his behalf and threatened them with a lawsuit nothing else was said about it. It isn't as uncommon as you think nor is it done for the reasons that you gave.

[huck von finn]

I also doubt if the plaid shirt guy heard him--he was that out of control. If they hadn't stopped him, I'm sure he would've charged the door or even gone through the plate glass window.

LOLOLOL!!! I can't help it!! You crack me up!!

[Lord_Baltar]

Well Mineral, your spelling is pretty good, and you can string a together a good sentence...

:) You may Declare yourself Intellectually Superior...

[MEGoody]

"That's how it should be, for the good of government."

I'm planning on launching an effort to rid all governmental buildings of all images relating to Greek and/or Roman gods/goddesses. We can start in Alabama. I'm glad I can count on your support.

[PleaseNoMore]

Yes God does give us understanding and reasoning and intellect but he clearly advises us to "lean not unto thine own understanding but on every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

[RoughDobermann]

Was this a public school?

[MineralMan]

"The difference being is that we now have the NEW Testament which means we are no longer under the same penalty for sin as delineated in the Old Testament."

Does your Bible include the Old Testament? If so, then I rest my case. Not all Muslim countries exact the death penalty for adultery, either. Neither does Israel, even though they rely on the Old Testament totally. But, those laws are still in your Bible, right near those Ten Commandments, which you still adopt from the Old Testament.

I realize that those old death penalties don't apply. They don't in most of the Muslim world, either.

[GOPyouth]

Not to be picky, but the link to FNC is to another website. The story content is correct, although the name of the article is off.

Just clarifying for searching sake. :)

[nfldgirl]

Some teachers have taken Bibles from students and put them in the wastebasket.

Examples please?

Here's an example for you....this happened a couple years ago in a local elementary school--fifth grade. Teacher told students they could bring a book from home to read during their free time. A girl chose to bring her Bible. [I know this family, and this girl did this totally on her own--no prodding from parents.] Then the first (appropriate) time she brought it out to read, the teacher took it away from her, delivered it to the office, and the office called her mother to advise that the book could be picked up in the school office at the end of the day. The mom notified the dad of what happened. He immediately went to the school to discuss this with the principal who would not back down on their decision to disallow the Bible in class, so the father immediately removed his three children from that school and enrolled them the same afternoon in a private school just a mile down the road.