The House voted 77-17 yesterday to allow public schools to post the Ten Commandments, and then went further, calling for a monument displaying the biblical moral code to be placed outside the Capitol. Several legislators said they feel a duty to lead Kentucky not only politically, but spiritually as well. Rep. Charlie Walton warned his colleagues before the vote. Senate Joint Resolution 57 now returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote on the House's changes, but it is expected to move easily through that chamber and to the desk of Gov. Paul Patton.
Joint resolutions carry the weight of law.
During a three-hour debate, some of the resolution's opponents criticized the majority for exploiting religion for political gain throughout this winter's session. Religion can be an important part of people's personal lives, but it doesn't belong in public institutions, where it would be forced on those who disagree, critics said. It will do nothing but promote intolerance and divisiveness,'' said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law that allowed the Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools. The First Amendment requires that church and state be kept separate, and the Ten Commandments which refer to God are undeniably a religious text, the court ruled.