Florida County Approves Including Ten Commandments with Historical Displays in Government Buildings

A Florida county has signed off on a recommendation to include copies of the Ten Commandments in larger displays of historical documents in government buildings. 

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 last week to approve the measure “following hours of debate and public comment both for and against the proposal,” the Christian Post reported Wednesday. 

“Recommendation to display the Ten Commandments as part of a larger exhibit depicting the foundations of American law and government in appropriate publicly accessible locations on County property to be selected by the County Manager,” the agenda point read. 

Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall of District 2, who sponsored the recommendation, told the Christian Post he “never anticipated the resistance that came about” and was “actually shocked that people would resist just a simple measure.” He said he is “super pleased” that the measure ultimately passed,” and noted that he was inspired to sponsor the recommendation after talking with an 87-year-old local school board member. 

“I thought it was a great idea just to encourage people to bring about the acknowledgment of moral values, virtue, humility, and getting back to what made this country great in the beginning,” Hall said. 

READ MORE: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Bill Mandating Ten Commandments in Classrooms

Hall said the proposed display will contain at least eight historical documents, although a final design has not been approved yet. Local officials and the county attorney are expected to meet and plan how to move forward with the displays.

Progressives decried Hall’s recommendation, pointing to the principle of separation of church and state, which is not in the U.S. Constitution, but was contained in one of Thomas Jefferson’s letters, and is lambasted by conservatives as largely misapplied in the present day.

“Everything about it seems inappropriate and contrary to the principles of a free society where religion and government are separate,” president of the Interfaith Alliance of Southwest Florida, Rev. Sharon Harris-Euing, said per Fox4. “Christians are not to be preferred and the Christian perspective is not to be ascendant,” she added.

Collier County Commissioner Burt L. Saunders, who represents District 3, was the only commissioner who voted against the proposal. He said at last week’s meeting that while he believes in the “concept” and “admonitions contained in the Ten Commandments,” he felt including them is a “divisive issue” and “not a function of county government.”

READ MORE: Appeals Court Upholds Ten Commandments Ban In Louisiana Classrooms

Saunders read a letter from a local woman, who aired the concern that allowing a religious text in a government-sponsored display could potentially “compromis[e] the principle of the separation of church and state.” 

Hall rejected that concern, telling the outlet the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was “clearly meant to keep the state out of the church and not the other way around.”

“The mere mention of the word of God or prayer or Christianity or anything does not mean that we are putting religion on to people. It has nothing to do with that,” Hall said. “By displaying the Ten Commandments with other public documents and other historical documents, we have in no form or fashion put religion on people.”