Oklahoma lawmaker files bill to build another Ten Commandments monument at state Capitol
The bill also says anyone who knowingly damages or destroys the monument would be charged with a felony
The bill also says anyone who knowingly damages or destroys the monument would be charged with a felony
The bill also says anyone who knowingly damages or destroys the monument would be charged with a felony
A state lawmaker has filed a bill that would build another Ten Commandments statue at the Oklahoma state Capitol.
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Senate Bill 1858, which was filed by state Sen. David Bullard, states that the Ten Commandments monument would be prominently displayed on the inside and outside of the Capitol building "as a symbol of its historic significance for Oklahoman and American history." The monument could not be relocated once in place without three-fourths approval by the House and Senate and then the governor's approval.
The bill goes on to say that anyone who knowingly damages or destroys the monument would be charged with a felony.
Only donated funds may be used for the design, placement, security and construction of the monument, according to the bill.
Bullard's bill also says the state and any county, municipality, city, town, school or any other political subdivision would be allowed to display replicas of historical documents, including the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Oklahoma Constitution.
| MORE | Oklahoma representative files bill requiring all classrooms to display Ten Commandments
The bill is the latest attempt to have a monument of the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma state Capitol.
The Oklahoma Legislature authorized a Ten Commandment monument in 2009, and a privately funded 6-foot-tall granite statue was erected on Capitol grounds in 2012. The monument stood until October of 2015 after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional and a judge ordered for its removal.
The monument had to be replaced in early 2015 after the original statue was destroyed when a man drove a car into it during the previous October.
While the Ten Commandments monument stood at the Oklahoma state Capitol, other groups asked to erect their own monuments on Capitol grounds.
A Satanic group wanted to put up a 7-foot-tall statue depicting Satan as Baphomet, a goat-headed figure with horns, wings and a long beard. A Hindu leader in Nevada, an animal rights group and the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster also made requests.
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