Legislation that would return the Ten Commandments monument that was donated by the Kentucky Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in the 1970s to the State Capitol grounds was approved in the Kentucky House on Wednesday.
House Joint Resolution 15 is sponsored by Rep. Shane Baker, R-Somerset. In presenting the measure, Baker, said, “Kentucky and our nation have a long tradition of public monuments and displays that acknowledge the significant role the Ten Commandments have played in our nation’s history. Today, the Ten Commandments are displayed prominently throughout our nation’s capital, including at the Supreme Court Building.”
In 1971, the Fraternal Order of Eagles donated the monument, which was displayed on the Capitol grounds until the 1980s, when it was moved to storage due to a construction project. In 2000, a joint resolution was signed into law requiring it be returned to the Capitol grounds for permanent display near the floral clock, but it faced legal challenges.
In 2002, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court order prohibiting enforcement of the 2000 joint resolution, by applying a test established by the United States Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman in 1971. As a result, the monument was returned to the Fraternal Order of Eagles and given to the care of the organization’s chapter in Hopkinsville.
However, in 2005, the United States Supreme Court in Van Orden v. Perry upheld the exhibition of an essentially identical Fraternal Order of Eagles’ Ten Commandments monument on permanent display on the state Capitol grounds in Austin, Tex. The Court held that Lemon was “not useful in dealing with the sort of passive monument that Texas has erected on its Capitol ground,” and instead focused on the “nature of the monument” and “our Nation’s history.” That negated the Court of Appeals order.
Baker noted, “Returning the monument to the Capitol grounds is historic restoration, acknowledging the history and tradition of the commonwealth and our nation.”
This time the monument would be placed in Monument Park on the Capitol grounds.
David Walls of the Family Foundation of Kentucky offered the following statement:
“It’s time to restore the historic Ten Commandments monument to its proper place on the grounds of the Kentucky Capitol. I am grateful for the Kentucky House passing this joint resolution and encourage the Kentucky Senate to join in passing HJR 15. The Ten Commandments has had an immense impact on American history and on the legal principles that made our country and Commonwealth so strong throughout history.”
After defeating an amendment that would allow other religions to place monuments on the Capitol grounds, the resolution was adopted 79-13 and now heads to the Senate.
The Ten Commandments monument is currently displayed in Hopkinsville.
