News Release
For Immediate Release: 3.27.25
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Law Firm Applauds Return of Ten Commandments Monument to Kentucky’s State Capitol Grounds
Fraternal Order of Eagles will return monument to the state.
Frankfort, KY—Today, Kentucky House Joint Resolution 15 (HJR-15), which passed the state legislature by an overwhelming majority in both houses, became law. The legislation returns for permanent display on the state Capitol grounds the historic Ten Commandments monument donated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1971. First Liberty represents Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3423, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, which has kept the monument for over twenty years and is returning it to the state for placement on the Capitol grounds.
“We applaud the Kentucky legislature for restoring a part of Kentucky’s history,” said Roger Byron, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “Like Kentucky’s monument, there is a long history and tradition of public monuments and displays that recognize the unique and important role the Ten Commandments have played in state and national history.”
Vic Jeffries, trustee of Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3423, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, said, “We are thrilled to return the Ten Commandments monument to the state and have it restored to the Capitol grounds, its historic location. The Eagles have donated over 100 Ten Commandments monuments to state and local governments over the years, and we’re glad to have ours back where it belongs.”
The monument stood on the state Capitol grounds until the 1980s when it was moved due to a construction project. Its return was blocked by a court order based on the much maligned Lemon test. That test subsequently was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in First Liberty’s 2019 Supreme Court victory in The American Legion, which mandated a presumptive lawfulness for established symbols, displays and practices. Then in 2022 in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, another First Liberty victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court abrogated Lemon entirely and mandated that the Establishment Clause be understood and applied by original meaning, history and tradition. As the Supreme Court has explained, the Ten Commandments “have an undeniable historical meaning,” including “historical significance as one of the foundations of our legal system,” and “[s]uch acknowledgments of the role played by the Ten Commandments in our Nation’s heritage are common throughout America.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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