The Amarillo City Council approved a resolution approving the acceptance of donations for the development of a Ten Commandments monument at its city hall.
“We respect everyone’s opinion and the separation of church and state is exactly what we want in our constitutional rights of the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion. And so, just because something has a religious background to it we don’t have to not allow it in the so that everyone can be comfortable,” said Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley, as per KFDA News Channel 10.
He explained that if the monument “represents our history, our values and who we are as a people then we should take a stand for that and that actually should be what brings us together from different denominations and different faiths of all kind we respect faith in other people.”
The city’s resolution declares that the Ten Commandments, “as found in the Bible, as an important component of the legal and historical foundation of the laws and legal system of the United States, the State of Texas, and the City of Amarillo.”
“The city council expressed that, in order for citizens to understand and appreciate the foundational principles of the American system of government, it is important to recognize the Ten Commandments as one of many sources influencing the development of modern law,” the resolution states. “The placement of a monument on city hall grounds is intended to acknowledge this historical and legal influence.”
The city has tapped the First Liberty Institute to represent them if legal challenges arise.
