Supreme Court on The Ten Commandments
Posted by Moonage on 27 Jun 2005 | Tagged as: National Politics
Just got word that the Supreme Court upheld the ban on The Ten Commandments.
The court ruled that in McCreary County v. ACLU that the displays violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government from endorsing or supporting one religion above others.
The vote was split 5-4 down the usual liberal-conservative lines. There were no surprises to me. However, I’ve had a gripe about this debate for a long time.
Namely, this is what the Constitution actually says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
It addresses the federal government. It says nothing about local governments. There was a reason for this. The original thirteen states had very diverse ethnic backgrounds with their respective religions preferences. One "official" religion would have alienated several of the original states. It was not addressing local governments or government entities. For that reason, and that reason alone, I think The Supreme Court blew it. This is not a question of religion, it’s a question of states’ rights. The Supreme Court has ignored the obvious and allowed the federal government to over-rule the states on this issue when The Constitution did not give them the right to do so. This is not a new translation of The Constitution by The Supremes. It is however, still wrong.
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