10 Commandments marker okayed

By Melinda L. Lucas

A request by John Tate to erect a granite monument inscribed with the 10 Commandments on the Courthouse Square was granted by Shackelford County commissioners after a lengthy discussion on Monday morning, April 12.

Tate said that he and other Albany citizens would fund the project, and there would be no cost to the county.

Another local resident, Jane Hooker, expressed concern that approving the monument could lead to other requests, although she emphasized that she is not against the 10 Commandments or what they stand for.

County judge Robert Skelton said he had looked for guidance in both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and feels that neither prohibits nor discourages such a project. 

“The U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2005 allowed the 10 Commandment monument to stand outside the Texas State Capitol,” said Skelton. “I recognize the secular value it has as serving as the basis for which laws of every society pattern their statutes and rules.”

He added that there are other precedents in the area for courthouse square monuments, and that local commissioners had given permission just last month for a religious group to use the square for an upcoming Bethlehem Village production.

County attorney Rollin Rauschl commented that the proposed project would be “more of a monument to our freedoms than to religion.”

All three commissioners present voted in favor of a motion to grant the request, with the stipulation that it would be privately funded and would be of similar quality as the other monuments on the square.