Oklahoma governor signs Ten Commandments bill

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry signed a measure May 18 authorizing erection of a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol grounds. The monument will be built with private funds.

Groups including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty had both encouraged Henry, a member of First Baptist Church, Shawnee, Okla., to veto the bill on the principle of separation of church and state. The bill, modeled after a Texas law the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional in 2005, passed both houses of the Legislature by veto-proof margins. The bill’s sponsor, Republican House member Mike Ritze, indicated his family would pay for placement and upkeep of the monument.