Thou Shall Not Violate the First Amendment in Alabama

Earlier, talking about the recent sodomy case and the upcoming Pledge of Allegiance case, I speculated that “if something is constitutionally questionable but it dates back to the American Revolution or thereabouts, then it’s ok. But if it’s constitutionally questionable and originated in the 20th century, then the court will strike it down.”

Under this theory, putting “In God We Trust” on money is consitutionally ok, whereas putting a monument displaying the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court building is not constitutional.

Thank God!

AB

P.S. Those on the side of the judge who had the monument put in the building, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, will likely make appeals based on the Christian traditions of the nations and the importance of the Bible to the Founding Fathers, and so on. That the Founding Fathers in any way intended the government of this nation to be anything other than secular is a dangerous myth that should be put to rest. Could “God” have accidentally been left out of the Constitution? After the Constiution was ratified, was there a Philadelphia Convention where the Founding Fathers said “Oops, this document could leave future generations with the false impression that we did not intend this nation to be a theocracy?”. Christ. Libertarian blogger Amy Phillips has some good quotes on this subject. I like this one from John Adams: “The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion…”