Effort to change constitution moves forward with Senate
The Oklahoma Senate on Monday passed a measure to let people vote to delete the section of the Oklahoma Constitution cited in the removal of the Ten Commandments monument from the Capitol grounds.
The privately funded monument was removed last year after the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that it violated Section 5 of Article II of the Oklahoma Constitution that prohibits the use of public money or property for religious purposes.
The action came following a lawsuit by the ACLU of Oklahoma on behalf of three plaintiffs.
Senate Joint Resolution 72, by Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, passed by a vote of 39-5 with no debate.
It heads to the House for consideration.
“This measure will give the final say to the citizens of our state,” Standridge said.
Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, supported the measure, saying the removal of the Ten Commandments monument was very controversial.
“It is appropriate to take it to a vote of the people,” Crain said.
But those voting against the measure said they feared it would open the door to other religious monuments and the use of taxpayer dollars for private, religious schools.
Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, said he supports the Ten Commandments, but removal of that section of the constitution is “a dangerous precedent.”
“The proponents of removing this incredibly important portion of our state’s constitution want Oklahoma voters to believe in doing so, it paves the way for a new Ten Commandments monument to be erected on the grounds of the state Capitol,” said Ryan Kiesel, ACLU of Oklahoma executive director.
But the move invites federal litigation under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution “that the state will almost certainly lose at considerably expense, all the while continuing to play politics with the deeply held beliefs of Oklahomans instead of directing their attention to the fiscal crisis our state is facing,” Kiesel said.
State- appropriated agencies were forced to take budget cuts for the current fiscal year as a result of a revenue failure.
Meanwhile, the state expects to have $1.3 billion less to spend in crafting the fiscal year 2017 budget.
The privately funded monument was removed last year after the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that it violated Section 5 of Article II of the Oklahoma Constitution that prohibits the use of public money or property for religious purposes.