Ten Commandments monument at Oklahoma capitol ordered removed but one man will not let that happen

Oklahoma's Supreme Court recently overturned a previous ruling and issued another stating that the display of the Ten Commandments on capitol grounds violated the state's constitution. They ordered its removal from the grounds because of the religious leanings of the monument, however, the Republican representative who funded it personally has no plans of retreating. Contentions against displays of religious connotations have been amassing, including the court battle over "One Nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Rep. Mike Ritze explained that the Ten Commandments monument was erected on the capitol grounds, not for the sole benefit of the Jewish and Christian faiths, as stated in the ruling, but in remembrance of the country's history and laws heavily influenced by the commandments.

Ritze and his family decided to pay for the display to assure the American heritage would live on and be acknowledged by others.

"I felt like we needed to have a monument there to show current and future generations where a lot of our laws derive from. That's how the monument evolved," said Rep. Ritze. "In no way, shape or form did we want the monument to be a religious symbol. This is historical heritage of our birth as a nation and birth as a state."

According to the legislator, the three-page ruling on the removal of the 6-ft tall granite monument was "very, very poorly written." He explained that the legal counsel is asking for reconsideration and if it is dismissed, they are ready to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ritze and his family paid $10,000 for the construction and erection of the Ten Commandments display and also paid for its repair after a man crashed into it, claiming the devil made him do it.

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