The Ten Commandment statue in Haskell county that sits in front of the county courthouse was unanimously decided as unconstitutional.

In its decision, the court ruled that the monument violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution because a “reasonable observer would view the monument as having the impermissible principal or primary effect of endorsing religion.” The monument is unconstitutional, the court ruled, because the proposal to erect the monument, its approval by the Haskell County Board of Commissioners, and the commissioners’ expressly religious defense of the monument “strongly reflect a government endorsement of religion.”

This is a great victory for separation of church and state proponents, and gives me hope that the statue that is planned for the Oklahoma State Capitol will also be challenged and ruled unconstitutional. The Oklahoma ACLU was waiting for the decision in the Green v. Haskell County case, and with a victory, I’m sure they will be filing a lawsuit before the statue is erected later this year.

I’m glad the court came to the decision it did, especially when reading the decision, I see that I was right to think of the Kentucky case McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky, which was ruled unconstitutional. Although I haven’t heard yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if Haskell County appeals.

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