(Columbia-AP) Feb. 11, 2004 -- House members passed a resolution asking Congress to amend the US Constitution to allow for the display of the Ten Commandments in public places. The resolution was adopted by an 89 to 19 vote.

The resolution sparked more than an hour of emotional debate Wednesday. A number of Democrats defended their Christian beliefs but objected to the resolution. They say it forces Christianity on the public.

Representative Thad Viers of Myrtle Beach sponsored the resolution after the publicity surrounding Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordering a Ten Commandments monument placed in the rotunda of the judicial building.

A federal judge found the monument to be an unconstitutional promotion of religion by government.

Posted 8:33pm by BrettWitt