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Alabama Will Vote on Displaying the Ten Commandments

Alabama Voters Will on Displaying the Ten Commandments
By Lahti213 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Democrats oppose the proposed Ten Commandments amendment, saying it is unconstitutional.

Voters in Alabama will take a collective decision on whether to permit The Ten Commandments for public display at public places like schools.[/tweetit] This has come after a constitutional amendment was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives through a ballot provision. The amendment passed, with 66 voting for the display and 19 against. The Senate has already given its approval to the proposal and the governor does not need to sign it. The proposal was initiated by Republican Senator Gerald Dial.

Alabama Will Vote on Displaying the Ten Commandments[/tweetthis]

For Dial, the push for this bill is not new. He has tried to introduce this particular bill for many years. He is presently in the race for the post of State Agriculture Commissioner. Democrats believe the Republicans have initiated this step to gather conservative support.

For Republicans, the path to this end was fraught with setbacks. Roy Moore, who was defeated in the special Senate election held in December 2017, was subjected to a lawsuit. In 2003, Moore was expelled from his chief justice position in the Supreme Court of the state. The reason for his removal was his abject refusal to remove a marble monument commemorating The Ten Commandments.

In case this proposal is accepted by voters, the Ten Commandments will not be automatically displayed in any public building. It is to be noted that the Ten Commandments cannot be erected with state money. The legislation will permit individuals to erect these displays with private money. Democrats said the proposal directly violates the separation of church and state. The law would result in federal lawsuits which the state would have to fight with taxpayer revenues. Representative Marcel Black of the Democratic Party said he opposed this bill as it is unconstitutional. He pointed out the course of events which will take place if the bill is stuck down will result in the state spending large amounts of money. Most of the money will be spent on matters of the court.

According to the GOP, they lent their support to this bill as the Founding Fathers of America expressed Christian faith. As per Republicans, this proposed amendment bolsters religious liberty. The latter is already protected as per law. A Representative from the Republican Party, Danny Garrett, said that he prays that there will come a point when the American people will freely express faith sans being afraid of being used.

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