UPI News - Bush Administration Backs Ten Commandments
ACLJ ^ | January 28, 2005 | Michael Kirkland
 

WASHINGTON -- Outside groups are weighing in as the Supreme Court prepares to hear argument this spring on whether the Ten Commandments can be displayed on government property.

Interested friends of the court, all the usual suspects including 22 states, are practically thrusting green-colored support briefs at the justices.

But the real heavy hitter is the Bush administration, which has come down firmly on the side of those who want to keep the commandments on display at statehouses and courthouses.

The underlying cases involve McCreary and Pulaski counties in Kentucky, and the state of Texas.

In 1999 the American Civil Liberties Union helped seven private individuals file suit against the two counties and the Harlan County (Ky.) School District. The suit said the framed displays of the commandments in the courthouses and in the schools violated the separation of church and state.

After the suit was filed the counties and the district modified the displays to include other documents.

A federal judge, however, ruled for the challengers. Instead of appealing the ruling the counties and district tried again to include the commandments in larger set-pieces titled "Foundations of American Law and Government Display" containing a variety of other documents said to have played a role in the formation of law and government.

The school district also included a school board resolution that discussed the historical background of the documents and gave the community the opportunity to display an unlimited number of similar historical documents....
 

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