Fundraising begins for Bill of Rights monument

A monument to the Bill of Rights will be placed on the east side of the Oklahoma Capitol, if organizers can get the funding.

The Bill of Rights Monument Project hopes to raise about $850,000 over the course of design and construction. The monument has not yet been designed, but the Capitol Preservation Commission has authorized the entire park-like area just east of the building.

A list of finalists for the design phase could be announced by Dec. 15.

“We’ve got an 88-day period in here that we have targeted to begin the efforts to solicit funds and support for this project,” said Gary Banz, a former state representative who co-authored legislation that allowed the monument on state grounds. “This is a project that will bring people together.”

Chris Bliss, executive director of the Bill of Rights Monument Project, praised the location, which is between the Capitol building and the House of Representatives parking lot.

“Look at the site. It’s an absolutely gorgeous site with the Capitol soon to be fully restored in the background,” said Bliss. “A site like this will really give a place for contemplation, and more importantly, conversation about these founding ideas and principles.”

Oklahoma’s Capitol grounds have been a flashpoint for debate about the role of monuments on state-owned land, specifically about a 10 Commandments statute that was first laid next to the Capitol in 2012.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court forced its removal, citing the Oklahoma’s Constitution’s ban on using state assets for religious purposes.

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, however, enjoy more broad support among lawmakers. Both the House and Senate unanimously voted for legislation that authorized its placement inside the Capitol complex.

Oklahoma is the second

state to get this far in the process, and two others have gotten approval.

A monument in Arizona was finished and dedicated in 2012.

The Texas and Alabama Legislatures have approved the project to be placed on their respective Capitol grounds. Bliss said similar legislation will be introduced in California next year.

Banz, who recently visited the Arizona installation, said that version incorporates the Bill of Rights with several other monuments.

“We’re just thrilled we have so much area here to work with, because it will become a destination place for people who are visiting the Capitol,” he said. “As providence would have it, we were not a part of the original 13 of this nation. But we do have an opportunity to be some of the first out of the chute on this project.”

The target groups, Bliss said, are teachers and students.

“Our prime audience is student groups coming in to have this lesson plan be here for them, for them to take back to the classroom,” he said. “But of course, it doesn’t hurt that the people writing the laws walk by it every day.”