Kansas town removes Ten Commandments after AU lawsuit

Church & State, Jun 1999

The City Commission of Manhattan, Kan., has voted 3-2 to remove a Ten Commandments monolith from the front lawn of city hall rather than face an Americans United-sponsored lawsuit.

More than 350 town residents attended the April 27 meeting, many of whom urged the Commission to keep the Decalogue display. But at the end of the evening, the Commission, acting on a proposal by member Bruce Snead, approved a plan to return the four-foothigh granite monument to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which donated the display to the city in 1958. The monument was removed the next day.

About 75 city residents lined up to address the commission on the matter. Although many spoke in favor of keeping the monument, not all agreed. Angela Hubler, one of seven residents who agreed to serve as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said she is a Christian but added, "I don't think it's necessary to reject the Constitution to be a good Christian. We do not live in a theocracy, thank God."

Another speaker, Lilly Sanders added, "Jesus' kingdom was not built by force. It was built by love."

Although the commission has removed the monument, the controversy is not completely over. Americans United, which brought the legal challenge with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, has asked the federal court to issue an order stipulating that the display was unconstitutional, so that the monument or one like it cannot be erected again in the future.

The commission, meanwhile, has voted 3-2 to accept free legal help from the American Center for Law and Justice, a legal group founded by TV preacher Pat Robertson, as final negotiations in the case continue.