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Trial Begins Today Involving Historical Display Of Ten Commandments In Georgia County
October
20, 2003
Mathew D. Staver
Habersham
County, GA - In a trial beginning
today before Judge William O'Kelley in
Gainesville, Georgia, Liberty Counsel
is defending an historical display of
the Ten Commandments on behalf of
Habersham County, Georgia.
Liberty Counsel is a nationwide
religious civil liberties organization
specializing in religious freedom, the
sanctity of human life and traditional
family values.
The display was donated by private
individuals. The Habersham
County Courthouse and the Natatorium
contain multiple historically
significant documents along with the
Ten Commandments, including the
Declaration of Independence, the
Mayflower Compact, the Bill of Rights,
the Magna Charta, the text of the
National Anthem, and a picture of Lady
Justice. Each of the documents
displayed is the same size and style
as the others. A resolution
passed by the Habersham County Board
of Commissioners noted that the
documents displayed were historically
significant "to our county and
our country and was designed to
promote a general appreciation of the
historical understanding of the
development of law in this
country."
Twelve of the original thirteen
colonies adopted all ten of the Ten
Commandments. From the colonial
times to the present, courts and
legislators have historically
referenced the Ten Commandments and
their influenced on the development of
American law. Many of our laws
today are still based on the Ten
Commandments, not the least of which
are laws regulating retail or liquor
sales on Sunday. Liberty Counsel is
currently defending ten separate Ten
Commandments cases in the country.
In two of these cases, courts recently
have ruled that a stand-alone Ten
Commandments case (Austin, TX) is
constitutional and a Ten Commandments
displayed in the context of historical
documents (Mercer County, KY) is also
constitutional. A federal trial
court and a separate federal court of
appeals have also recently ruled that
displays of the Ten Commandments on
two separate courthouses in
Pennsylvania are constitutional.
Mathew D. Staver, President and
General Counsel of Liberty Counsel,
stated, "To remove the Ten
Commandments from public display would
require a complete rewriting of
American history. There is
little question that the Ten
Commandments profoundly influenced the
development of American law. Courts
and legislatures have routinely cited
the Ten Commandments as the basis of
many of our laws. Indeed, Moses
with the Ten Commandments is
prominently displayed in the United
States Supreme Court. Groups
like the American Civil Liberties
Union may not like the fact that the
Ten Commandments played a profound
role in the development of American
law, but history speaks for
itself."
The trial involving Habersham County
begins today before Judge O'Kelley in
Gainesville, Georgia.
Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.
An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund
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