OKLAHOMA CITY — The Ten Commandments monument that has been on Oklahoma’s Capitol grounds since 2012 was moved to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) just a few blocks from the Capitol on Oct. 5.
OCPA is a privately funded public policy research organization that provides research data and information to legislators about state-level issues from a free-market perspective.
The move ended a long culture war in which state lawmakers tried to save the monument but in the end only opened the door for other groups, including Satanists and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, to apply for permission to erect their own monuments on Capitol grounds.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the removal of the monument a few months prior, ruling that it violated the state constitution’s ban on the use of state property for the benefit of religion. The deadline for removal was Oct. 12. (RNS)
Share with others: