{"id":5991,"date":"2011-08-13T16:36:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-13T20:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/watchwomanonthewall\/?p=5991"},"modified":"2011-08-13T16:41:03","modified_gmt":"2011-08-13T20:41:03","slug":"floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-gov%e2%80%99t-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/08\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-gov%e2%80%99t-land.html","title":{"rendered":"FLORIDIANS FIGHT TO KEEP 10 COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT ON GOV\u2019T LAND"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CROSS CITY, Fla. (The Blaze\/AP) \u2014 The folks who live in this sparsely populated rural region along Florida\u2018s upper west coast don\u2019t like outsiders butting in, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re miffed, to put it politely, and appealing a federal judge\u2019s order to remove a five-foot high granite monument that prominently displays the Ten Commandments in front of the Dixie County courthouse by Sunday. Below, watch a news report that explains the continuing drama:<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ten commandments ordered away from Dixie County Court House\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n78ntjXRy6o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>It\u2019s the latest skirmish in a years-long conflict across the United States between state and local officials who have wanted to honor the laws that help define their faith and those who argue such displays should stay out of any public forum under a constitution that bars the establishment of religion.<\/p>\n<p>It has been almost eight years since former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was removed from office and gained nationwide notoriety for refusing to move another huge granite monument to the commandments from the court\u2019s lobby. But similar disputes continue to trickle through the courts in towns and counties nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Dixie County officials and residents say support for their monument is unanimous and they accuse outsiders of trampling on their way of life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have not had one negative comment from the community,\u201d said county manager Mike Cassidy, a 48-year-old, fourth-generation Floridian who grew up in Cross City. \u201cNo one in this county has come forward and said, `this should be removed.\u2019 It has been totally unanimous.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>The six-ton, $20,000 monument still sits on the courthouse steps. Beneath the commandments, the monument reads in large capital letters, \u201cLOVE GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.\u201d<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/2011\/08\/commandments.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"344\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Residents here have long had a reputation for their independence and don\u2019t take kindly to outsider interference, even if it\u2019s a constitutional issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will be people standing around it to protect it when they come to remove it,\u201d said Donald Eady, a 38-year-old mobile mechanic who lives in neighboring Old Town, a short jaunt south down four-lane U.S. Highway 19. \u201cThe people here enjoy it. We should have that freedom, but they\u2019re taking our freedom away daily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul ruled on July 15 in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which sued Dixie County to remove the monument from the front of the courthouse building in Cross City. The monument was bought by a local businessman, who pays for its maintenance as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida ACLU argued that an official government display of a religious monument violates a clause in the First Amendment that prohibits the government from promoting religious messages. The county argued that a private citizen owns the monument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe actual ownership of the monument, the location and permanent nature of the display make it clear to all reasonable observers that Dixie County chooses to be associated with the message being conveyed,\u201d Paul said in his ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys for Dixie County filed notice July 26 at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to defend the county\u2019s policy allowing private displays of law and history. The status of that appeal is pending.<\/p>\n<p>Disputes in Kentucky, Virginia, Utah, New Mexico and other states have continued to bounce through lower courts since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2005 that displaying the Ten Commandments could be constitutional if its main purpose is to honor the nation\u2019s legal traditions, rather than religious traditions.<\/p>\n<p>Some governments have tried to follow that ruling by displaying the commandments with other legal documents, like the Magna Carta and Hammurabi\u2019s Code. But conflicting opinions have since been issued in appeals courts.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the issue again in February when it refused to consider a dispute about displays banned from two Kentucky courthouses.<\/p>\n<p>The Dixie County monuments were paid for by Joe Anderson Jr., the president of Lake City-based Anderson Columbia, which has grown over its 53-year history into one of the largest highway construction and paving firms in the Southeast. He is listed on the back as its owner. He has also paid for three identical monuments in neighboring counties.<\/p>\n<p>Attempts to reach Anderson were referred to Liberty Counsel attorney Mathew Staver, who represents Dixie County in the appeal. Anderson has agreed to remove the monument if a stay is not received by Sunday\u2019s deadline, Staver said Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s nobody in that county who wants that monument moved,\u201d Staver said.<\/p>\n<p>The suit was filed anonymously by an out-of-state individual, Staver said. The plaintiff\u2019s name has been kept private by court order.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe plaintiff came into the town, left the town, never intended to live or come back,\u201d Staver said. \u201cThis is a person that doesn\u2019t even live in the state of Florida and has no intention of moving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Derek Newton, spokesman for the Florida ACLU, disputes Staver\u2019s claim that the plaintiff is from out-of-state. He said the plaintiff splits time between homes in Florida and North Carolina and has belonged to the ACLU since 1989.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe plaintiff is the ACLU,\u201d Newton said. \u201cThe person who we took to the court as a member of the ACLU was a resident of an adjoining county, who was seeking to buy property in Dixie County. They went to the courthouse to pull public records and decided not to buy property in Dixie County in part because of the offensive monument in front of the courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU\u2019s Florida operation, said the community can relocate the monument at a church or other house of worship.<\/p>\n<p>There is little public disagreement about the religious sentiments in the county where there is 12 percent unemployment in an economy largely dependent on the timber industry.<\/p>\n<p>Driving into Cross City on Highway 19 from the north one is greeted by a sign in front of the First Baptist Church which reads: \u201cListen to God\u2019s Word And Do As He Says.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA bunch of people that ain\u2019t got no damn sense want to tear down the good Lord,\u201d said Jeannie Hoffman from neighboring Tennille. \u201cThey took prayer out of schools, they took paddlings out of schools, they took all your rights away right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although most are still registered as Democrats, Dixie County votes increasingly Republican. U.S. Sen. John McCain and former President George W. Bush both fared well with Dixie County voters, who have all Republicans representing them in the Florida Legislature.<\/p>\n<p>Although one of the poorest areas of Florida with the timber industry about the only thing left after a government net ban shut down the fishing business some 20 years ago, Dixie County has historically boasted some of the better schools in Florida based on a statewide grading system.<\/p>\n<p>Incorporated in 1924, Cross City is the largest community in Dixie County with roughly 1,700 residents. The second largest is Horseshoe Beach with about 200 folks. The remaining 15,000 or so residents are scattered throughout the heavily wooded county.<\/p>\n<p>Remote and spread out, but still tight-knit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe support what we feel is right for our citizens,\u201d said Cassidy, who like most of the government leaders and local law enforcement, grew up in the community.<\/p>\n<p>And to them that means keeping the Ten Commandments monument right where it is.<\/p>\n<p>Read more:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/stories\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-govt-land\/\">http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/stories\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-govt-land\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CROSS CITY, Fla. (The Blaze\/AP) \u2014 The folks who live in this sparsely populated rural region along Florida\u2018s upper west coast don\u2019t like outsiders butting in, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs. They\u2019re miffed, to put it politely, and appealing a federal judge\u2019s order to remove a five-foot high granite monument that prominently&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1686,1361,1344,599,485,256,344,1925,252,1688,435,1871,1367,701,1867,1121,1355,1502,705,1349,1680,1498,168,1354,1620,1430,251,244,68,450,434,108,429,1159,806],"tags":[9361,2234,2235,2233],"class_list":["post-5991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1st-amendment-rights","category-anti-christian-bias","category-attacks-from-the-left-on-the-righteous","category-big-government","category-big-lobby","category-brainwashing","category-bullying","category-character-assassination","category-christian","category-christian-martyrs-the-persecuted-church","category-communism","category-constitutional-unconstitutional","category-deceptions-and-lies","category-democrats","category-evil-plot","category-failed-policies","category-false-religions-that-claim-to-be-christian","category-godlessness","category-government-2","category-individual-terrorism-the-little-terrorist","category-injustice","category-insanity","category-jesus-christ","category-liberals","category-moral-decline","category-news-2","category-persecution","category-perversion","category-political-correctness","category-politics","category-propaganda","category-religion","category-society","category-the-christian-revolution","category-warning","tag-aclu","tag-cross-city-dixie-county-florida","tag-out-of-towner-filed-suit-no-intentions-of-ever-returning","tag-remove-the-ten-commandments"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FLORIDIANS FIGHT TO KEEP 10 COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT ON GOV\u2019T LAND  - Watchwoman on the Wall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/08\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-gov\u2019t-land.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FLORIDIANS FIGHT TO KEEP 10 COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT ON GOV\u2019T LAND  - Watchwoman on the Wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CROSS CITY, Fla. (The Blaze\/AP) \u2014 The folks who live in this sparsely populated rural region along Florida\u2018s upper west coast don\u2019t like outsiders butting in, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs. They\u2019re miffed, to put it politely, and appealing a federal judge\u2019s order to remove a five-foot high granite monument that prominently&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/08\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-gov\u2019t-land.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Watchwoman on the Wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-13T20:36:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-13T20:41:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/commandments.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Donna Calvin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"FLORIDIANS FIGHT TO KEEP 10 COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT ON GOV\u2019T LAND  - Watchwoman on the Wall","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/08\/floridians-fight-to-keep-10-commandments-monument-on-gov\u2019t-land.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"FLORIDIANS FIGHT TO KEEP 10 COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT ON GOV\u2019T LAND  - Watchwoman on the Wall","og_description":"CROSS CITY, Fla. (The Blaze\/AP) \u2014 The folks who live in this sparsely populated rural region along Florida\u2018s upper west coast don\u2019t like outsiders butting in, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs. 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He continued that God wasn't important, wasn't real, and our parents just used God to impose restrictions on us because they were inadequate to parent effectively. I knew then I was going to be involved in a war and that I would have to be in Jesus Christ's Army. Even then, I knew the United States of America would cease to exist without the vast majority of its citizens voluntarily submitting to the Perfect and Good Laws of the Holy Bible. I am a woman who loves the Lord Jesus Christ. I am tired of seeing our LORD denigrated from the school house to the White House. I search the Internet for items that ought to serve as a warning to Americans and Christians all through America, but the nation seems to be sleeping. Wake up America! You are losing your freedoms, your children and your country. Wake up and help stop it!","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/author\/dcalvin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/403"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5991"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5996,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5991\/revisions\/5996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}