The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Behind the Badge
Sara Hummadi, Video Editor • April 29, 2024
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Alabama judge

Moore must move misguided monument

Alabama Reverend Roy Moore… er, oops…we mean Alabama State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore received a final blow in his fight to keep his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building rotunda.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Moore a stay in his appeal to keep the monument. Moore has vowed to “fight for the right of the state to acknowledge God as the moral foundation of our law.”

While it might appear a trivial argument to some (it’s just a big piece of stone with carvings) the debate runs deep touching the cords of a Constitutional ban on the government promotion of religion.

All eight other Alabama State Justices are refusing to stand with Moore on the fight concerning a principle underpinning of American government: the Separation of Church and State.

While Moore is well meaning he is a bit short-sided on the ramifications of dismantling the church-state wall. The basis for religious freedom and a just society: what kind of “justice” can a citizen expect – or fear – from a government that aligns itself with Christianity if they themselves are not Christian?

Although America and Alabama would like to consider the state free from religious persecution, we must continue to maintain the laws that provide for that freedom.

For everyday Moore refuses to remove the monument, the state of Alabama and the unified judicial system of the state will be fined $5,000.

The Separation of Church and State demands that Chief Justice Moore remove the 5,300-pound monument from the public rotunda. But under the religious freedom provided by the first amendment, Roy Moore is welcome to move the Commandments into his personal office.

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