OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma County judge is scheduled to decide whether to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state Capitol.
A hearing is scheduled Friday before District Judge Thomas Prince on a request by the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission to dismiss the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and alleges the monument's placement on the Capitol grounds is unconstitutional.
The 6-foot-tall granite monument was erected in November 2012 after Republican state Rep. Mike Ritze and his family paid nearly $10,000 for it. It was authorized by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2009.
The lawsuit alleges the monument violates the state Constitution's prohibition against the use of public property to support "any sect, church, denomination or system of religion."