HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — House Bill 178, which would mandate public schools to display the Ten Commandments, passed the House Thursday and is heading to the Senate.
“Religious freedom must apply to everyone, not just the majority… The idea that our nation’s moral decline can be reversed simply by posting the Ten Commandments in schools is, frankly, misguided. Morality is not restored by hanging religious texts on walls—it is demonstrated by how we live out our faith and moral convictions. It is easier to post the Ten Commandments than to embody their principles.”
Travis Collins, First Baptist Church Huntsville Senior Pastor
Travis Collins is a part of that so-called religious majority, but the above quote is an excerpt from a letter he sent to lawmakers in February asking them not to support the bill mandating the Ten Commandments.
“Our government should serve all citizens equally, neither promoting nor prohibiting religion,” Collins told News 19. “The First Amendment guarantees that…My question to much of those who want it is: If these were the five pillars of Islam, would we want them in our public schools? 99 out of 100 people would say ‘no’.”
Despite his efforts, the bill passed the House on Thursday.
Representative Phillip Rigsby (R-Madison), a sponsor of the bill, said he believes the bill would give schools a sense of direction. Rigsby added that he does not believe it oversteps the line on the separation of church and state.
“We don’t want to disrespect or ignore the beliefs that we were founded upon,” Rigsby said. “In no way is this establishing religion in the schools. I think it gives us a good, at the very minimum, moral compass.”
He added that the bill offers flexibility.
“It does not go in every classroom,” Rigsby said. “I’ve heard some rumors about that, and it’s just one location inside the school.”
On the other side of the aisle, House Minority Leader Representative Anthony Daniels (D) Huntsville, is concerned about who will pay for the displays.
“He said there’s some private individuals that are interested,” Daniels said. “And I said, well, what if you’re unable to raise the money to get private individuals to do this? Because it’s mandatory, that means the school system will be responsible for it.”
The courts have ruled this practice unconstitutional in cases of Kentucky and Louisiana. Daniels said he believes this bill would also go up to the courts if signed by Governor Ivey.
“We’ve been down this road before, where we see the Alabama legislature in general, individuals introduce pieces of legislation that they know will be deemed as unconstitutional,” Daniels said. “And so yet again, we’re costing our taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars, unnecessarily when we know that this has been struck down other places.”
The bill still has to pass the Senate before being sent to Governor Ivey’s desk.
The post Lawmakers and a pastor weigh in on Ten Commandments bill passing House appeared first on WHNT.
