A bill that would allow for the display of the Ten Commandments along with historical documents on public property passed the state Senate on Thursday.
House Bill 2177 by Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, and Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, passed by a 39-3 vote and heads to the House for consideration.
“Every county, municipality, city, town, school or any other political subdivision is authorized to display, in its public buildings and on its grounds, replicas of historical documents including, but not limited to, the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, Oklahoma Constitution and other historically significant documents in the form of statues, monuments, memorials, tablets or any other display that respects the dignity and solemnity of such documents,” according to the measure.
An amendment to penalize lawmakers who author unconstitutional bills failed to secure approval.
The bill comes after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds was religious and had to be removed.
It also comes after voters in 2016 rejected State Question 790, which would have allowed the Ten Commandments monument to be displayed at the Capitol.
The question, put on the ballot by state lawmakers, would have removed the portion of the Oklahoma Constitution that the Supreme Court used to order removal of the Ten Commandments monument from the Capitol grounds.
Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, said the measure would not force cities, counties or other entities to display the monuments, but would allow for it.
He said the Ten Commandments would have to be displayed “with other historical documents.”
Senate Minority Leader John Sparks, D-Norman, attempted to amend the bill.
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