News Release
For Immediate Release: 3.24.26
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Texas County’s Ten Commandments Monument Constitutional, Religious Liberty Law Firm Affirms
The monument recently erected in Tarrant County is virtually identical to the one on the Texas State Capitol grounds.
Fort Worth, TX—Representing the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, First Liberty Institute sent a letter to the Freedom from Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) affirming that a permanent monument of the Ten Commandments placed on the grounds of the historic, 1895 Tarrant County Courthouse is constitutional. The letter responds to claims made by FFRF in correspondence to Tarrant County officials.
You can read the letter here.
“Displaying the Ten Commandments on public grounds is consistent with Supreme Court decisions that recognize our religious heritage and the best of the nation’s history and traditions,” said Garrett Bell, Associate Counsel to First Liberty. “The Ten Commandments are a symbol of law and moral conduct with both religious and secular significance for all Americans. Legally suspect diatribes from anti-religious groups should be ignored.”
In 2019 First Liberty Institute won a case at the U.S. Supreme Court, The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, which established a presumptive lawfulness for religious symbols, displays and practices. The monument erected at the Tarrant County Courthouse earlier this year was made possible by a private donation facilitated by the American History & Heritage Foundation (“AHHF”) to highlight American legal history.
According to the letter, “the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution takes no issue with passive, religious displays like the County’s Ten Commandments monument, which comport with ‘historical practices and understandings.’ Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist., 597 U.S. 507, 535 (2022) (quoting Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565, 576 (2014)). The Ten Commandments’ influence on Founding-era statesman and our system of governance is unmistakable, and accordingly, the instances of its memorialization on government property are innumerable. The County’s Ten Commandments monument ‘fits within [a] tradition long followed,’ Town of Greece, 572 U.S. at 577, and therefore, will remain at the Tarrant County Courthouse.”
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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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