by Jayla Ward • 3 minutes
First Liberty is supporting a legal effort to reinstate a Ten Commandments monument in Indianapolis. We submitted a friend-of-the court brief in federal district court on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
The brief supports a motion filed by Gov. Mike Braun and Attorney General Todd Rokita to reverse a court order from 2000 that barred the monument from the Statehouse grounds.
In the 1950s, the Fraternal Order of Eagles donated more than 100 monuments inscribed with the Ten Commandments to state and local governments across the country. One was donated to Indiana in 1958 and stood on the Statehouse lawn until it was vandalized in 1991.
An Indiana limestone concern provided a replacement. But the monument was barred from the grounds by a court order based on the Lemon test, a bad precedent that stifled religious expression in the public square. That precedent was overturned by First Liberty victories for the Bladensburg Peace Cross and Coach Joe Kennedy.
“This monument is part of the longstanding history and tradition of public displays that acknowledge the role the Ten Commandments have played in the development of our legal system,” said Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty. “Our Supreme Court wins in American Legion and Kennedy established history and tradition as the standard for church and state matters, a test the monument meets with ease.”
The Indiana governor’s motion spells out how First Liberty’s Supreme Court win in our Coach Kennedy case replaced the old test with a standard based on the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution.
For more than two centuries, the Supreme Court has recognized that references to the divine and displays of religious symbols have coexisted harmoniously with the principles of the First Amendment. Our brief argues that Indiana’s display of the Ten Commandments is constitutional because under Kennedy the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by history and tradition, and there is a long tradition of Ten Commandments displays that acknowledge the role the commandments have played in state and national history.
Thanks to our Supreme Court victories, the Ten Commandments and other historic religious displays are being brought back into the public square all across the country.
In Texas, Tarrant County recently held a dedication ceremony to place a monument inscribed with the Decalogue on the grounds of the county courthouse, built in 1895. In Kentucky, a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Eagles in 1971 was brought back to the state Capitol grounds in Frankfort, its original location, after it was removed 40 years ago.
We’re witnessing an incredible restoration of religious expression in states and local communities across America. But opponents are responding with legal attacks and challenging many of these advances for religious freedom.
Right now, First Liberty is fighting a major case to stop several radical groups that are challenging the Ten Commandments monument at the Arkansas Capitol. We’re defending the monument as co-counsel with the Attorney General of Arkansas.
In Texas and Louisiana, radical groups sued in federal court to stop laws that require displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools. First Liberty filed a brief on behalf of 46 members of Congress in support of the state laws. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments in these cases.
Each effort to advance religious liberty is being met with resistance and lawsuits. Many of these groups are incredibly well-funded—and you can be sure their attacks will not stop anytime soon. This is a fight that will only intensify.
Please give to First Liberty today. Your gift is essential in this fight—it’s the difference maker that will help us win more cases and continue changing the future of our country.
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