So there’s a Ten Commandments monument that stands about six feet tall that has stood on the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol since 2012. Guess what happened next. A group of atheists from New Jersey filed suit to force its removal. This is all predictable but what happened next is what’s surprising.
A federal judge tossed it out, saying that the group lacked legal standing to even file the suit because someone from the group visited the site with the sole purpose of getting themselves offended. Seriously. They traveled from New Jersey to Oklahoma just so they could pretend to be offended. That’s some serious commitment.
In American Atheists, Inc. v. Thompson, (WD OK, March 10, 2015), the court held that the individual plaintiff in the case lacks standing because she saw the Monument only once before filing suit, and then only because she went looking for it — apparently in order to create standing to sue. The standing of American Atheists, Inc. depends on the standing of the individual plaintiff who was a member. Reacting to the decision, Oklahoma state Attorney General Scott Pruitt said: “The historical relevance of the Ten Commandments and the role it played in the founding of our nation cannot be disputed. I commend Judge Cauthron’s decision to rule in the state’s favor.”
Since the monument was placed there, other groups have requested to erect their own monuments including a satanic monument, an animal rights monument, and a Flying Spaghetti Monster monument. Oh, and someone also drove across the Capitol lawn and crashed into it, destroying it. So this is actually just a replica.
Wow. These guys really don’t like the Ten Commandments.
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