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This week, a donated monument to the Ten Commandments was permanently restored on the grounds of the Kentucky State Capitol, more than four decades after it was removed.
The granite monument was returned Wednesday following the passage of House Joint Resolution 15, which passed the House 79-13 on February 19 and the Senate 32-6 on March 13. The resolution ordered the state to reinstall the monument on the Capitol grounds.
“I’m happy to see this historic landmark of the Ten Commandments returned to its rightful place,” HJR 15 sponsor Rep. Shane Baker, R-Somerset, told FOX56. “The Ten Commandments have widely recognized historical significance in the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the nation.”
The monument was first donated to the state in 1971 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and remained on permanent display until its removal around 1980 due to a construction project. Efforts to reinstall it were halted in 2000 after the ACLU sued and a federal district court ruled that displaying the monument violated the Establishment Clause under the Lemon Test.
The Ten Commandments monument returned to the grounds of the Kentucky State Capitol after 40 years. (First Institute of Liberty)
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The United States Supreme Court concluded in its decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District 2022 that the court had “long abandoned Lemon” and ordered courts to evaluate Establishment Clause disputes based on “historical practices and understandings.”
The First Liberty Institute, a religious liberties law firm that represented the Fraternal Order of Eagles, welcomed the monument’s return Wednesday.
“We applaud the people of Kentucky for restoring a part of their history,” Roger Byron, senior attorney for the First Liberty Institute, said in a news release. “There is a long tradition of public monuments like this that recognize the unique and important role that the Ten Commandments have played in the history of the state and country.”
Vic Jeffries, trustee of Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3423 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, said, “We are pleased to return the Ten Commandments Monument to the Commonwealth and bring it back to where it belongs. The Eagles have donated more than 100 Ten Commandments monuments to state and local governments over the years, and we are happy to have ours back on the grounds of the State Capitol.
Anna Dollar (2nd L) of Boone, North Carolina, and Deanna Gosnell (R) of Avery, North Carolina, hold signs during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Ten Commandments, March 2, 2005, in Washington, DC (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Some state lawmakers have expressed reservations about returning the monument, fearing it could spark another legal challenge or raise questions about whether other faiths would be allowed to display similar objects on public lands, according to WUKY.
“It gives me a little heartburn about the separation of church and state,” state Rep. Joshua Watkins told the news outlet.
State Sen. Keturah Herron, a Louisville Democrat, also expressed concern that other faiths should be represented at the Capitol.
“I’m just curious why specifically the Ten Commandments, and if we were to do something like that, what are we going to do to ensure that other religions like Buddhism, Muslims and other faiths are present here at our Capitol,” she asked, according to a press release from the Kentucky Legislature in March.
The Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, photographed on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Baker said the resolution was not about religious manifestations but about recognizing the long tradition and role the Ten Commandments have played in U.S. history.
Fox News Digital has contacted the ACLU for comment.
