Michigan Capitol Display Will Include 10 Commandments

The Associated Press reports that Michigan's Capitol Committee, made up of four senators, four representatives and four members of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration, voted 11-1 yesterday to include the Ten Commandments in a display of historical documents inside the Michigan Capitol. Last week the House adopted H Res 268 encouraging the display. The "History of Our Laws and System of Government Display" is modeled after a display in a Kentucky courthouse that was upheld by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, leaders of the Capitol Committee may shorten the text of the display's historical documents that now run to 41 pages and include the Mayflower Compact, Orders of Connecticut, Iroquois League, Bill of Rights and 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. The final display will also be reviewed by the state attorney general's office for constitutional or legal problems. (See prior related postings 1, 2.)