|
One Alabama legislator is following Gov. Bob
Riley's lead in making a public commitment to displaying a plaque of
the Ten Commandments on state property.
Rep. David Grimes, R-Montgomery,
said he will accept a plaque of the biblical laws from several
Independent Baptist ministers from various states across the country
today during a rally on the front steps of the Capitol building.
"He will take that plaque and hang it on
the wall in his state office," said the Rev. Frank Raddish,
leader of Capitol Hill Independent Baptist Ministries, based in
Washington, D.C. "He's not squeamish about it either, and we
appreciate his stand."
Raddish's group, along with the spiritual
leaders of congregations in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina,
Tennessee and Georgia, plan to present Grimes the plaque
during a four-hour rally that starts at 1 p.m. today. Some 100
ministers and their parishioners are expected to attend.
In order for the group to gain access to the
top level of the steps to hold the rally, Grimes said, it
needed the backing of a legislator. He said he was happy to be the
sponsor.
"I'm a big supporter of the Ten
Commandments, and we should be free to hang them wherever we like to
hang them because they do represent the rule of law and the standard
of morality in this state and in this country," Grimes
said Monday afternoon.
Grimes' decision comes less than a week
after Toby Roth, Riley's chief of staff, accepted a granite plaque
on Riley's behalf from the Christian Defense Coalition, a group that
has held numerous demonstrations in defense of suspended state
Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and his 5,300-pound Ten
Commandments monument.
Last week, Roth told monument supporters the
plaque should be in place -- in the old Supreme Court library -- by
today.
Moore lost his battle to keep his display in
the rotunda of the Judicial Building when a federal judge ordered it
removed by Aug. 20.
The chief justice was suspended Aug. 22 after
refus ing to move the monu ment, but state au thorities ul timately
rolled the display away from public view on Aug. 27. It is now in a
private storage area in the Judicial Building.
The controversy has garnered national attention
and prompted religious groups from across the nation to hold
demonstrations in Montgomery.
It also spawned a campaign by religious leaders
to ask governors and state officials in every state to display
similar plaques on public property.
Raddish said ministers will rally in support of
Moore and his monument today and will speak out on other issues such
as prayer in schools and the acknowledgment of God in public places.
"We believe the battle line has been
drawn, and we are going to carry forth the battle," Raddish
said. "This is a national thing."
Also, other monument supporters will visit the
Capitol today to see if Riley's office has displayed the granite
plaque presented last week.
|