AROUND THE STATES.

Ten Commandments Bill Approved In Kentucky

The Kentucky General Assembly has passed legislation urging the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools and other government buildings. The bill, which Gov. Paul Patton said he is prepared to sign into law, also requires that a 7-foot-high Decalogue monument be placed outside the Capitol near the state's floral clock.

On March 29, the Kentucky Senate voted 33 to 2 to pass S.J.R. 57, a resolution that declares the Ten Commandments to be the foundation for our laws and therefore suitable for posting on state property. The bill claims the purpose of the display "shall not be to advance religion, but to advance the important secular purpose of illustrating how the Bible and the Ten Commandments have influenced the faith, morals, and character of American leaders who, in turn, have shaped American law, public policy, and institutions."

If the bill becomes law, the Commandments will be incorporated into larger displays of other "historic documents."

"God wants the Ten Commandments," said Sen. Albert Robinson (R-London), sponsor of the legislation. "That's where we come from."

Civil liberties groups have already announced that the measure will likely be challenged in court if it becomes law. Kentucky joins Indiana and South Dakota as state legislatures that passed Ten Commandments laws during this legislative session.

`In God We Trust' Posters Headed To Public Schools

A Mississippi-based Religious Right group has developed a new campaign intended to bring a religious message to America's public schools.

The Rev. Donald W. Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, published a column in the March 2000 issue of the AFA Journal asking Religious Right activists accross the country to purchase three 11 x 14-inch posters with the words "In God We Trust" for $10.

"The poster can be framed and displayed in every public building in America," Wildmon said. "And you know what? The ACLU can't do a thing about it. How could it be illegal to post our national motto in any school, courthouse or other public building?

"Students walking down the hall will see and read this motto, and they may even be influenced by it," Wildmon added. "This is something the Supreme Court was afraid would happen when they made posting the Ten Commandments illegal."

Lawyers for Americans United for Separation of Church and State believe Wildmon's plan is of questionable legality. The AFA would have to prove that the poster is intended to serve a secular purpose, which in light of the poster's message and the agenda of the AFA, might be difficult.

`Jesus Saves': Just Another Brick In The Walk?

A class fundraiser at Mexico High School in Oswego County, N.Y., has become a major church-state controversy and appears to be headed to court.

As part of a project started by the Class of 1999, bricks on the school's main walkway were sold for $30, offering buyers an opportunity to inscribe a brief, personal message. However, when bricks started carrying messages such as "Jesus Saves" and "Jesus Christ is the Lord of this School," officials started questioning the wisdom of the endeavor.

Elizabeth Passer, a member of one of the only two Jewish families in the small community, complained that the bricks raised constitutional concerns about school neutrality on religious matters. In February, Passer pushed the district into action by buying a brick inscribed with the phrase, "Keep Abortion Legal."

When Passer's brick message was rejected, Mexico Superintendent Michael Havens, acting on the advice of the school district's attorney, announced the removal of the controversial bricks March 8. The next day, Mexico's school board passed a proposal to prohibit political, religious or profane expressions on bricks.

"To me, the bricks should not have gone in in the first place," the Rev. Stephen Wirkes, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Mexico, told the Syracuse Herald American. "They were meant to be provocative. They were meant to be confrontational. And they were meant to tear this community apart. And they did. And they succeeded."

However, Bob Kiesinger, a Mexico resident who purchased the "Jesus Saves" brick, told the Syracuse Herald-Journal he has contacted the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based Religious Right legal group, about a potential lawsuit.