Friday, September 10, 1999

Grant Co. may display commandments

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Officials could be courting lawsuit

BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — Grant County officials may soon embrace the legally dangerous and politically touchy practice of posting the Ten Commandments in a public place.

        The fiscal court is considering a proposal to place a copy in the county courthouse in Williamstown.

        “We are a Christian nation, and this is a Christian, very religious-based county,” said Magistrate Kenny Lee Messer, a Republican who suggested the idea. “It's time we stood our ground on those issues, no matter what the downside. It's the Christian thing to do.”

        The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled such a display violates the Constitution's ban on government-established religion. By hanging the commandments in the courthouse, the fiscal court could invite a lawsuit from, among others, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

        The issue comes up as other county governments and school districts in Kentucky are displaying the Ten Commandments.

        Last month, the commandments were posted at courthouses in Rowan County, and in the Pulaski County seat of Somerset. Two weeks ago, Pike County Fiscal Court unanimously voted to ask the Kentucky Attorney General's office under what circumstances the Ten Commandments can be posted in county buildings — particularly if public money is not used.

        School districts that have posted the commandments recently include those in Jackson, Harlan and Breathitt counties in

        eastern Kentucky.

        The move toward displaying the Ten Commandments in Kentucky apparently stems from the U.S. House's passage of a bill in June that would allow them to be posted in classrooms and government buildings.

        The bill is in the Senate but is not scheduled to be voted on this year, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Thursday.

        Mr. McConnell, a Republican, said he hasn't decided how he'll vote. Rep. Ken Lucas, D-Richwood, whose 4th District includes Northern Kentucky and Grant County, voted for the House version.

        One other member of the four-member Grant County Fiscal Court, Magistrate Patricia Conrad, a Democrat, said Thursday she probably would vote in favor of displaying the commandments.

        “I don't have a problem with it,” Ms. Conrad said. “I'm a Christian. I attend church. I don't know if (displaying the commandments) would have a big difference on people's lives, but I'm certainly not opposed to it.”

        Judge-executive Darrel Link, a Democrat who has a copy of the commandments hanging in his courthouse office, would not say Thursday how he would vote. But he did say he typically votes with the majority on most issues.

        “It's an emotional, hot topic,” Mr. Link said. “Do we violate the Constitution that we took an oath to uphold? What kind of message does that send to our youth? That's what we have to talk about.”Magistrate Richard Austin, a Democrat, said he believes that the commandments should be displayed in the courthouse.

        “But legally I don't know if we can do it,” he said.

        None of the school districts that have displayed the commandments has been legally challenged. The ACLU says it won't act until someone living in one of those counties complains.

        But the Kentucky School Boards Association, the organization that insures 150 of Kentucky's 176 school boards, has said it won't pay for any legal costs regarding the posting of the Ten Commandments, calling it an “intentional act.”

        Mr. Link said the Kentucky Association of Counties, which insures county governments, also has said it would not pay such legal bills.

        Mr. Link said he thinks Grant County should wait for the attorney general's opinion before voting. He also wants an opinion from County Attorney James Purcell. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

        Ms. Conrad and Mr. Messer said they won't be influenced by the threat of a lawsuit.

        “We're prepared to fight that battle,” Mr. Messer said.

        Said Ms. Conrad: “I'm probably like a bulldog. I'm not going to back down, and I am going to vote my conscience.”

        The Associated Press contributed to this report.

       

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