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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a motion in federal court requesting approval to erect a monument displaying the Ten Commandments on the Statehouse lawn.
If the motion were accepted, it would overturn an over 20-year-old injunction stemming from a lawsuit filed by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (now known as the ACLU of Indiana) to prevent the monument’s placement, an effort the ICLU argued would constitute an unlawful establishment of religion.
“The Statehouse grounds feature many monuments and markers celebrating Indiana’s and America’s heritage,” Rokita said in a released statement. “This monument belongs among them as a reminder of core principles that have guided our nation. After all these years, it’s time to place this historical recognition where Hoosiers and visitors can appreciate its significance in our common story.”
In 2000, then-Gov. Frank O’Bannon accepted the monument as a gift from the Indiana Limestone Institute as a replacement for a similar monument that had been on the Statehouse lawn for decades, before it was vandalized in 1991.
According to court documents, the faces of the monument display the Ten Commandments, the federal Bill of Rights and the preamble to the 1851 Indiana Constitution.
But before the new monument could be erected, the ICLU sued O’Bannon and moved for a preliminary injunction blocking its placement. The U.S. District Court in Indianapolis approved the injunction, and it has been in place ever since.
But recent high-court decisions, including one upholding a Ten Commandments display at the Texas Capitol, could change the monument’s status.
“This monument reflects foundational texts that have shaped our Nation’s laws, liberties, and civic life for generations,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a news release. “Given the clear shift in constitutional law and the long history of similar displays across the country, we ask the court to lift this outdated injunction. Restoring this historical monument is about honoring our heritage and who we are as Hoosiers.”
This motion also comes amidst desires among some state lawmakers to see the display of the Ten Commandments in schools.
A bill filed by Rep. Michelle Davis, a Whiteland Republican, would require each school corporation to place a “durable poster or framed picture” displaying the Ten Commandments in each school library and classroom.
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