A Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is a
religious symbol and must be removed because it violates the state's
constitutional ban on using public property to benefit a religion, the
Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
Oklahoma's highest court said the Ten Commandments chiseled into the
6-foot-tall granite monument, which was privately funded by a Republican
legislator, are "obviously religious in nature and are an integral part
of the Jewish and Christian faiths."
The 7-2 ruling overturns a decision by a district court judge who determined the monument could stay.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt had argued that the monument was
historical in nature and nearly identical to a Texas monument that was
found constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Oklahoma justices
said the local monument violated the state's constitution, not the U.S.
Constitution.
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