Foundation for Moral Law, Inc.

MONTGOMERY , Al.  Sept. 16, 2003 -- After numerous requests by Governors, legislators, and other individuals, Chief Justice Roy Moore has agreed with the Foundation for Moral Law, Inc., to offer the Ten Commandments Monument to the United States Congress for display in a prominent public place in the United States Capitol Building .

            According to the terms of the gift of the monument to the State of Alabama , title to the monument has reverted to the Chief Justice individually, clearing the way for such action through the Foundation for Moral Law.

            The monument represents the moral foundation of law and the acknowledgment of God upon Whom our Nation and organic law are predicated, said Moore. The monument was removed from public display in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building by order of Federal District Judge Myron Thompson, who declared the recognition of God to be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  It now sits in a closet behind locked doors.

            According to Dr. Mel Glenn, executive director of the Foundation for Moral Law, by accepting the monument as a gift and displaying it in the Capitol building, Congress would be bringing God out of the closet, and thereby would be demonstrating to the American people that Congress, and not an unelected and out of control federal judiciary, is the true guardian of liberty and our inalienable right to acknowledge God in the public square.

            This act of Congress would be in accord with the overwhelming majority of the American people, according to a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll stating that over 77 percent of those surveyed disapproved of a federal court decision ordering an Alabama court to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from public display in its building. (USA Today, Aug. 27, 2003) 

            We believe that the placement of the monument in the nations Capitol building would be most fitting and suitable, said Herb Titus, attorney for Moore. It is a beautifully carved 5,280 pound piece of Vermont granite of a quality comparable to the statuary in the building. Likewise, its thematic motif linking God and government is complementary to existing murals and other art work in the building. 

            By taking such action, Titus continues, the 108th Congress would be following the footsteps of the First Congress which passed a resolution urging President George Washington to issue the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation just days after voting for a Bill of Rights which contained the provision that Congress shall make no law respecting an Establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Like that first Thanksgiving Proclamation, the monument, itself, is not a law, because it neither commands nor prohibits anyone to do anything. Nor is it an establishment of religion, because the monument does not prescribe any form of worship, or articles of faith, or other duty subject only to individual conscience.  See Davis v. Beason , 133 U.S. 333, 342 (1890).

By its very action as the elected representatives of the American people, said Moore , Congress would restore the balance of power between the branches of government and would send a message to federal courts that we, the people, have the final word on our inalienable right to acknowledge God.

            According to Moore , with the display of the Ten Commandments monument, Congress would restore the meaning and intent of the First Amendment and would reaffirm that divine principle upon which our Country was founded.  Such action by Congress would conform to those actions by earlier Congresses in 1776 and 1789 which recognized that the acknowledgment of God lay at the very foundation of law and liberty in America .  Finally, such action by Congress would reflect the concurrent resolution of both houses of Congress in 1997 that the public display, including display in government offices and courthouses, of the Ten Commandments should be permitted, and the Sense of the Senate on April 1, 1998 that the public display, including display in the Supreme Court, the Capitol Building, the White House, and other government offices and courthouses across the nation, of the Ten Commandments should be permitted.

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For more information and/or interviews with Chief Justice Moore, Dr. Mel Glenn of the Foundation for Moral Law, and/or the legal team for Chief Justice Moore, please contact Jessica Atteberry Public Relations at (615) 331-3203, or via email at prjessica@aol.com,

or visit the website at http://www.morallaw.org/.