Ten Commandments plaque on display in Alabama Capitol

The Ten Commandments are now on display in Alabama’s Capitol, albeit in plaque form.

In keeping a promise he made to supporters of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, Gov. Bob Riley announced Sept. 7 the installation of the plaque in the Supreme Court Library of the state Capitol building. It is displayed there as part of the “Foundations of Our Laws” exhibit, which also features other historic documents such as the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence.

“Just as the Ten Commandments are exhibited in similar displays in the U.S. Supreme Court and in our nation’s Capitol building, I feel it is important to display them in our Capitol, as well,” Riley said.

The plaque was given to Riley by a group of pastors from the Spirit of Montgomery organization and was installed by the state Historical Commission.

Although the commandments are on display, Moore disagrees with the exhibit. “To put things around the Ten Commandments and secularize it is to deny the greatness of God,” he said at a fund-raising banquet held by the Foundation for Moral Law, Inc., to raise money for Moore’s legal defense fund.

Moore ordered the installation of a 5,300 pound granite monument of the Ten Commandments in the state Judicial Building in 2001.

After his refusal to follow a federal court order to remove the monument this year, Moore was suspended from his legal duties. The Alabama Supreme Court’s eight associate justices overruled Moore’s refusal and ordered the monument removed Aug. 27.

Moore said he and his attorneys planned to petition the United States Supreme Court to overturn the monument’s removal. He also expects a reinstatement hearing for his job to be set in October.

(TAB)