June 27, 2005

Congressman Akin Comments on Today’s Supreme Court Rulings on the Ten Commandments

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) made the following statement concerning today’s Supreme Court decisions regarding public displays of the Ten Commandments and the need for justices who will interpret the Constitution in a manner faithful to the intent of its signatories:

“While I am heartened that the Ten Commandments will remain in place on the Texas Capitol Grounds, I am disappointed with the Court’s decision to keep the Ten Commandments out of county courthouses in Kentucky.

“The inconsistent result in both of these cases shows the danger of allowing the Supreme Court to be the final decision-maker in determining if a public display is religious or not. The Court has now placed on the states the responsibility of discerning motivation for such displays, whether secular or sacred, historical or instructive. The standard is so indistinct as to invite all manner of litigation and interpretation.

“Clearly, the Ten Commandments are foundational to American law and the Western legal tradition. The Founders of our country argued strongly that the teachings of the Bible are essential to public order and decency as well as to human liberty.

“Today’s ruling reminds us of the need for justices who will interpret the Constitution according to the original understanding of its signatories. With the potential impending retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist, we as a nation should commit to having a federal court system where judges interpret the Constitution by its earliest and intentional lights, and not by their own political ideologies.”

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