Community members work to keep Ten Commandments
Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006
BENTON COUNTY — In Colcord, Okla., a group of community members is fighting for the right to keep the Christian symbol of the Ten Commandments displayed in the city’s public schools.
Group members are speaking out against a temporary ban of the religious symbol imposed by the school district last month.
The ban came after a Colcord High School student claimed the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms and administrative offices violated his civil liberties, school officials said.
In December, the high school senior asked for the displays of the Ten Commandments to be removed or legal action might be taken, said Kelly Hampton, superintendent of the Colcord School District.
Hampton would not release the student’s name. "We just went ahead and took them down to pre-empt big, expensive attorneys and lawsuits. We didn’t want to get involved with a lawsuit with the (American Civil Liberties Union) or anything," Hampton said. "It’s good to respect other people and their religions, but this is a bad deal and nobody is going to really win. This was a good kid, though, and it’s a shame it had to come to this."
Almost a decade ago, the Colcord School District decided to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms and offices on a discretionary basis, Hampton said. "We certainly don’t force anyone to put (the Ten Commandments) up," Hampton said.
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