> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2001
> CONTACT: Kristin Hansen, (202) 393-2100
> FOR RADIO: Kelly Green
>
> AMERICANS' RIGHT TO PUBLICLY POST TEN COMMANDMENTS
> SHOULDN'T DEPEND ON WHERE THEY LIVE, FRC SAYS
>
> "To post or not to post: all Americans should have the right
> to post the Ten Commandments in an educational display,"
> FRC's LaRue says.
>
> WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Supreme Court decision Tuesday to
> allow a Seventh Circuit Court decision banning public
> posting of the Ten Commandments neither establishes a
> precedent nor should it impede the nationwide movement to
> publicly post the Ten Commandments, said Jan LaRue, senior
> director of Legal Studies at the Family Research Council.
>
> The case questioned whether a granite marker bearing the Ten
> Commandments erected in 1958 in front of the Elkhart,
> Indiana city offices violates the First Amendment's
> Establishment Clause. While the Seventh Circuit said it was
> unconstitutional, a similar public display was upheld by the
> Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
>
> "All Americans should have the right to educate their fellow
> citizens through public displays about the role of religion
> in the founding and history of our country and its legal
> system, but those living in the Seventh Circuit do not,"
> LaRue said. "The inconsistent interpretation of federal law
> is an utterly untenable situation. It's the very reason the
> Court should have heard the case.
>
> "It seems to be a result of the Supreme Court's bullet-
> dodging of an issue that generates great public interest and
> passion," LaRue said. "In addition, the Court's
> Establishment Clause jurisprudence is so convoluted that
> they are unable or unwilling to straighten it out. This is
> another illustration of how important the next judicial
> appointments are.
>
> "In the meantime, nationwide efforts to publicly post the
> Ten Commandments are reasonable, within established law and
> tradition, and will not cease. The public square is an
> appropriate and constitutional location for the Ten
> Commandments."
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS, CALL THE
> FRC PRESS OFFICE.
>
>