Georgia Senate backs display of the Ten Commandments
By RHONDA COOK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/09/04
Several federal judges in recent months have ruled it unconstitutional to post copies of the Ten Commandments in government buildings.
But the Georgia Senate voted 42-8 Tuesday in favor of a nonbinding resolution to do just that. Senate Resolution 786 has no legal effect and does not go to the state House.
Several senators complained that too much legislative energy has focused on topics — including a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriages — designed to energize the Republican voting base, instead of on bills that would protect children or ensure health care for the poor.
"This is an election year, and everybody is trying to out-God each other," said Sen. Nadine Thomas (D-Decatur), who is running for the U.S. Senate. "We have spent this whole session seeing who is more religious than others."
The sponsor, Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), said about the resolution: "It's easy. You're either for it or against it." The only gray involved in the issue is the "color of the tablets," Mullis said.
According to the resolution, posting the document would be "an acknowledgment of God's sovereignty over civil government." Mullis argued that the Ten Commandments were the basis for laws and "a code of moral conduct," and that references to God are contained in the Preamble to the Georgia Constitution and in other government documents.
"I cannot support this resolution," said Sen. Seth Harp of Midland, the only Republican to vote against it. "We are asking the governor and this state to violate the law. The law of the land is that placement of the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol or government buildings is an unconstitutional act."
Last summer, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from the bench after he defied a federal court order to remove a 2-ton copy of the stone tablets from the lobby of the state's main judicial building.
In Georgia, a case is pending in federal court challenging Barrow County's posting in the courthouse. Habersham County recently dropped its appeal of a lower court ruling to remove Ten Commandments displays from the courthouse and the county natatorium.
Meanwhile, commissioners in Cherokee, Jackson and Walton counties have voted to post the commandments in their counties, despite the risk of lawsuits.