Georgia Senate Passes Bills to Erect Martin Luther King Jr. Statue and Ten Commandments Monument at State Capitol

Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, Georgia. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Georgia Senate passed a bill Wednesday to put a granite monument of the Ten Commandments at the State Capitol. The vote was 40 to 10.

House Bill 702 also calls for the Preambles of the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions to be included on the monument. A special committee would decide the design and location of the monument, which would be paid for with private funds.

A framed copy of the Ten Commandments was put up in the basement of the Capitol in September of 2012 along with copies of eight other historical documents, including the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. Although criticized by the ACLU, the display has not been challenged legally.

The Senate, by a vote of 49 to 1, also approved a bill for a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. to be placed at the Capitol.

The House first approved HB1080 on Mar. 3, but the King family sent Governor Nathan Deal a letter saying they had not been consulted and wanted to be part of the process. The Senate version of the bill was amended to say the statue won’t be placed until the “state has been granted intellectual property license,” presumably by the King family.

The revised bill must now be sent back to the House for its approval before going to Governor Deal for his signature. Deal will also receive the Ten Commandments bill.

A special committee would decide on design and placement of the statue, which would be paid for with private funds.

SOURCE: Paul Crawley
WXIA