AU Commandments protest sparks debate in big sky country.The governor of Montana has vowed to defend Ten Commandments Ten Commandments or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical system in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. displays on government property, asserting that those who oppose them "need a little help." Gov. Judy Martz Judy Martz (b. July 28 1943, Big Timber, Montana) was the governor of the U.S. state of Montana from January 2 2001 to January 3 2005. She served as the Lieutenant Governor under Marc Racicot from 1997-2001, and she was the first female governor of that state. , a Republican, made the comments in late February during a press conference when asked about an ongoing dispute over a Commandments display in Kalispell, reported the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. . "People who are offended of·fend v. of·fend·ed, of·fend·ing, of·fends v.tr. 1. To cause displeasure, anger, resentment, or wounded feelings in. 2. by the Ten Commandments have a deeper problem than the stone that it's written on, I think," said Martz. "Anybody that has trouble with the Ten Commandments, I think they have something going inside of them that would need a little help anyway." Responding to complaints from local residents, Americans United's Legal Department wrote to officials in Kalispell Feb. 17 and requested that a Ten Commandments monument in front of the courthouse in Flathead County be removed. In the letter, AU Legal Director Ayesha Khan noted that government sponsorship of religious displays is unconstitutional unconstitutional adj. referring to a statute, governmental conduct, court decision or private contract (such as a covenant which purports to limit transfer of real property only to Caucasians) which violate one or more provisions of the U. S. Constitution. . "The courts have overwhelmingly held that the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed on government property in isolation or when the Ten Commandments are more prominently displayed than other documents," Khan wrote. "Because this monument is displayed by itself, it is clearly unconstitutional." |
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