Hawkins County in Tennessee is building a new court house. One of the judges has proposed a "Foundations of American Law and Government" exhibit. This exhibit is to include a posting of the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance with "Under God" emphasized, a painting (I assume) of George Washington praying at Valley Forge, and a copy of the Magna Carta. Conspicuously absent from the display is the United States Constitution. The article, as provided by the FFRF, goes on to note several other problems with this display. Apparently, the first proposed iteration only had nine of the ten commandments. Omitted from the list? Adultery. One must wonder if the exhibit's proposer, Judge James Taylor, is a Family Court judge. Actually, he is a Juvenile Court Judge, but I'm sure he deals with family issues in that court quite frequently. Also, it has been firmly established by historians that there was no such prayer at Valley Forge.
The obvious religious overtones of such a display in a court house are a clear violation of the First Amendment. The County Commission is voting on the proposal later this month. The fact that it is even still being considered is absolutely crazy. More material for that First Amendment blog post I keep talking about doing. Oh, about the Pledge and "Under God" thing? I'll save that for another blog post.
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