Bill proposes to allow Ten Commandments display in public

[Thom Little]

Legislators have proposed a bill that could allow the Barrow County display of the Ten Commandments to return to the county courthouse.

House Bill 941, sponsored by state Reps. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson, and Terry England, R-Auburn, would permit counties to display historical documents on public property. The bill, also co-sponsored by state Rep. Timothy Bearden, R-Villa Rica, was pre-filed this month before the General Assembly session that will reopen in January.

The proposal comes after previous controversy concerning the courthouse and the Ten Commandments. In 2002, a Ten Commandments plaque was displayed at the courthouse but the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 2003 on behalf of an anonymous Barrow County resident to have it removed.

.......

England said the bill would allow counties to freely display historical documents "without threat from the ACLU for their every action," England said.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GA_TEN_COMMANDMENTS_GAOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-11-28-09-32-00

[Orsino]

1. It's about freedom.

The "freedom" of our so-called representatives to funnel tax dollars into religious displays that support the official state religion.