House debates resolution on Ten Commandments

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A resolution asking Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow for the display of the Ten Commandments in schools and public buildings passed the House on Wednesday.

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The concurrent resolution, which was adopted on an 89-19 vote, does not have the force of law but simply records the sense of the body.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, sponsored the resolution after the national publicity surrounding Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who ordered a 2 1/2 -ton Ten Commandments monument placed in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building in 2001.

In 2002, a federal judge found the monument to be an unconstitutional promotion of religion by government. Moore was ousted from office last year for violating ethics rules when he did not obey the federal court order to remove the monument.

The resolution sparked more than an hour of emotional debate Wednesday, with a number of Democrats defending their Christian beliefs but objecting to the resolution, which they say forces Christianity on the public.

"If we indeed in this country believe what we say we do, as far as freedom of religion, is it possible that someone who may not be of the Christian faith might take issue with having a public display of a religion that does not honor their religion?" said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg.

Viers said the Ten Commandments is not only a religious document but a historical basis for law. He also argued that American money is marked with "In God We Trust" and a number of federal buildings have inscriptions or markers referencing God.

Rep. Doug Jennings, D-Marlboro, called on lawmakers to join with him in proposing a rules change in the House to ban such resolutions memorializing Congress, saying it was a waste of time and taxpayer money.

"We've got the pressing problems of education and health care and more people out of work in this state than ever before and we're in here talking about symbolic issues like whether or not the Congress is going to listen to the South Carolina House about whether ... to allow the Constitution to be amended to post the Ten Commandments," Jennings said. "If you want to affect what Congress does, run for Congress."

--From the Thursday, February 12, 2004 online edition of the Augusta Chronicle