“Seek and Ye Shall Find”: Plaintiffs Found for Giles County Ten Commandments Suit
By Jason Johnson | Friday, February 18th, 2011 | PolicyThree weeks ago after discovering that the initial individual to complain about the Giles County Public School System’s display of the 10 Commandments in each of the county’s schools lacked standing to sue the county, the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation began actively searching for a new plaintiff and it found two.
The atheist and agnostic group that opposes posting the Ten Commandments in Giles County schools says it is ready to wage a lawsuit against the school board, though the group hasn’t yet filed its case.
Two Giles County families with children in public school will force the issue into court as plaintiffs, according to Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. The foundation will work jointly with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia to represent the families.
“Plaintiffs with children in the schools have come forward,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freedom From Religion’s co-president, said on the organization’s Feb. 12 radio program.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation also announced that it would be joined in the lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. (Apparently the ACLUVA grew tired of an out-of-state group receiving all the headlines and donations that it once received.) The Lynchburg-based Liberty Counsel is prepared to advise and/or defend Giles County when the suit is filed if the county requests its services.
Stan Barnhill, a First-Amendment attorney with Woods Rogers PLC, told Roanoke CBS affiliate WDBJ-7 that the success of the suit likely hinges on the intent behind the Ten Commandments’ placement in the schools: if the commandments were placed in the schools for a religious reason, Giles County will likely lose. If, however, the commandments were added for a secular purpose–to be part of a display of historic legal documents, for instance–Giles County is likely to prevail. Interestingly, both motivations appear to be behind the initial decision as Rev. Shahn Wilburn, a local minister, proposed that they be displayed in the wake of the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, however the Ten Commandments hang directly below the U.S. Constitution in display cases at each of the county’s four public schools.
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A lifelong political junkie, Jason caught the political bug as a fifth grader after meeting George Allen in 1993. Since then he has studied political science at both the undergraduate and graduate level. When not perusing the blogs or volunteering for conservative Republicans, Jason enjoys cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies and spending time at his Bedford County home.
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4 Responses to "“Seek and Ye Shall Find”: Plaintiffs Found for Giles County Ten Commandments Suit"
The ACLU has a nasty habit if attempting to prohibit religious expression. The school board elected by the people of Giles County wanted the commandments displayed.
The ACLU also has a track record of using deceitful tactics in the court of law. So it should not surprise us if they engage in such behavior this time around.
To put this in context, the Ten Commandments serve as a basis for civil law. I am hard pressed to think of a society that does not have some degree of restrictions on murder and theft, both of which are forbidden in the Ten Commandments. I could continue on about the “higher law” and “natural law” but for times sake I will not.
Nevertheless, I hope that the people of Giles County do not allow the ACLU to intimidate them out of what is rightfully theirs.
It is a government owned building. this would be fine anywhere else but it shows clear intent to endorse one religion over another… and the ten commandments don’t serve as a basis for civil law they are more of a basis for religious law. notice how most of them have to do with early Judaism. the code of Hammurabi has more basis than the ten commandments… but our laws were not based off of Jewish law they were based off of enlightenment era thinking…
@chuckles
I could take the time to respond to you in length. However, I will simply encourage you to visit the Wall Builders website. David Barton has put together a very lengthy and thorough response to statements like the one that you just made. He has amassed many of the founder’s letters and often goes to the original sources.
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