Guarino on yesterday's Ten Commandments rulings by the Supreme Court:
"... the left regularly inveighs that offensive material on television ought not be opposed, because the viewer has the option to turn it off. The viewer or listener of religious speech, likewise, can reject it if he or she is offended. But banning it entirely is akin to book-burning."
*****************
In answer to my questions yesterday about how the ruling might affect the 90 year-old panels bearing the Ten Commandments in our old Guilford County Courthouse; the N&R's Nate DeGraff looked into it. He spoke with County attorney Jonathan Maxwell who is confident that they will stay:
"Maxwell likened the county's nearly 90-year-old display to the Texas case, in which the court ruled that a 6-foot granite monument was a tribute to the nation's legal and religious history. Justice Steven Breyer noted that the monument stood for 40 years with no legal complaints. Guilford officials say their display has been similarly noncontroversial."
Also related. One of the folks who used to sit in a commissioner chair below the Commandments says they should stay, for practical "religious purposes". Classic Jeff Thigpen:
"Of course I used them for religious purposes while on the Board. I prayed for a number of things--- audio difficulties; votes without comment; adjournment; lightning-(directed at the my choice of commissioner); and an occasional meditation on the dirty word (a%%) in the 10th commandment --at times of disagreement with my fellow board members. Why should we deprive our county elected officials of these centering prayers under the ol' Hang 10"
7:52:36 AM 
|
