Ten Commandments to be removed from capitol grounds

'different facts are being erased in our history'

The Capitol Preservation Commission in Oklahoma, who is responsible for managing the placement of artwork on public property, has voted to remove a Ten Commandments monument from its capitol grounds.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Reuters reported the Preservation Commission voted 7-1 on Tuesday, allowing the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to remove the display, which was privately sponsored in 2012. 

Prior to the decision to remove the structure, there had been complaints and months of debate regarding the display, with a provision in the Oklahoma state constitution ruling out one religion proclaimed over another. 
The American Civil Liberties Union represented critics who brought the issue to courts in June. Although proponents argued the structure is not exclusively religious in nature, the judge made the decision to allow the removal of the display. 
According to last month's ruling, the monument will be removed by October 12. 
On June 30, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned previous decisions on a 7-2 ruling. It was stated that the Ten Commandments display promotes the Jewish and Christian faiths exclusively and that it is religious in nature. However, earlier this summer, Gov. Mary Fallin defended the structure and has issued a statement after the Oklahoma Supreme Court made its initial mandate for its removal. During the statement, she described the court ruling as "deeply disturbing."
"Last week the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Oklahoma's Ten Commandments monument was impermissible. Their decision was deeply disturbing to many in our legislature, many in the general public, and to me," Fallin stated.
There have been no reports of Fallin's reaction to the court decision, though it will undoubtedly be heard upon the monument's removal.
More than being just a religious symbol of the Jew-Christian faith, Fallin said the structure was constructed by private dollars to pay respect and honor to the "historical significance of the Commandments in our state's and nation's system of laws." 
The Ten Commandments display has been a point of contention since its erection in 2012 when Republican state Rep. Mike Ritze's family spent $10,000 to privately fund it. 
Ritze stated, "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."
He claims he never meant for the monument to be religious. He said it was a historical necessity and it provides context for all Americans in regards to the evolution of American law.

"I like history and I look at history and what we were teaching our children ... we wanted to link them to as much as the original history -different facts that are being erased in our history," Ritze said. "In no way, shape or form did we want the monument to be a religious symbol. This is a historical heritage of our birth as a nation and birth as a state."
Two years after its erection, the Ten Commandments monument was damaged when a man -claiming the devil made him do it- crashed his car into the display. Though Ritze paid for the structure's creation, he paid again for the repairs.

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