The Ten Commandments can be respected without monument: An editorial

State Rep. Patrick Williams of Shreveport has filed a bill that would allow a monument displaying the Ten Commandments to be built on the grounds of the state Capitol.

Rep. Patrick Williams.jpgRep. Patrick Williams, D-Shreveport.

But House Bill 277 doesn't stop at seeking permission for such a display. It also directs Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater's office to solicit private entities for donations to install and maintain the monument.

Rep. Williams said that the state won't be responsible for the cost, and it's good that he isn't seeking scarce public resources to pay for something that isn't a necessity. But it's hard to see why state officials should spend time and energy trying to drum up private money for a monument.

Kyle Plotkin, a spokesman for Gov. Bobby Jindal, said that the administration didn't ask for this bill but endorses it. "We support the bill and the Ten Commandments,'' he said.
It's possible, however, to respect the tenets set down in Ten Commandments and oppose this legislation.

Rep. Williams said that the monument must meet the standards used by the U.S. Supreme Court in upholding a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas capitol. The court ruled that the monument, which had been in place for 40 years at the time it was challenged, was constitutional because it dealt with the Ten Commandments in a social and historical context rather than a religious one.

"We are not looking at it from a religious perspective,'' Rep. Williams said. "Everything we do (in the lawmaking process) is based on the Ten Commandments.''

HB 277 specifies that the monument must include a plaque that says the Ten Commandments are being placed on the Capitol grounds to acknowledge "America's religious history.''

Clearly, it's possible for a Ten Commandments monument to pass constitutional muster, as the Texas monument did. But that doesn't mean Louisiana's monument won't be challenged. The state could very well find itself defending such a monument in court, and taxpayers will bear that burden.

This call for a public display seems more about pandering than accomplishing any public benefit. Lawmakers could do far more for their constituents by adhering to the commandments than by displaying them.