Another ACLU lawsuit against Ten Commandments meets with defeat

Another ACLU lawsuit against Ten Commandments meets with defeat

The founder of Liberty Counsel says the dismissal of an ACLU lawsuit against a Ten Commandments display in one Kentucky county is not a good sign for anti-American organizations.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in 1999 against Harlan County Schools over a display that included the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Star Spangled Banner, and other historical documents and symbols. Eventually, the lawsuit was partially consolidated with two other cases involving the same display in two courthouses.

Now a federal district court has dismissed the Harlan County case. Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver says the dismissal is the latest defeat for the ACLU.

"Since 2005 the ACLU has lost one Ten Commandments case after another," he observes, "and I think it's only logical and consistent that as part of our American history we are able to display the Ten Commandments as a universal symbol of law in a court of law or other public places around America." And while he is sure "the ACLU doesn't like it," he vows that his group will continue to fight to preserve that great religious heritage.

While similar displays are spreading throughout the nation, Staver argues it is important to defend such cases. "The Ten Commandments is embedded into our American culture and it is who we are," he offers. "It is a symbol of the law of God upon which this country was founded and other Judeo-Christian principles that are not only enmeshed in our culture, but even engraved in our buildings."

Staver says the dismissal shows the "clearinghouse agenda" of the ACLU "has hit rough waters" -- and he predicts the ACLU is unlikely to win any Ten Commandments cases that go to the Supreme Court until it has a solid majority in the ACLU's favor.