No Ten Commandments Allowed on Private Property

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Over the last two centuries the crowd that desires that we are governed by the rule of man have done whatever they can to erase the influence of Divine Providence on America’s founding, and our judicial system.  Even private prayer is being eliminated from the public square.

In Texas, Jeannette Golden erected a six by twelve foot sign on her property next to Highway 21, and shortly after putting it up the Texas Department of Transportation ordered that the sign be removed, classifying it as commercial advertising.

Golden then painted over the website on the display, to change it from “advertising” to a personal message.  But officials rejected her correction, calling it “outdoor advertising,” and requiring a permit.  The permit would cost $125, with an annual fee of $75 and a $250 surety bond. Fines for failure to obtain a permit are as high as $1,000 per day.

However, the D.O.T. also indicated that “no permit is possible” and that the sign must be removed as pursuant to the Highway Beautification Act, which relates to advertising. Golden is insistent that her sign is not an advertisement.

“I wasn’t advertising because that’s my freedom of religion, and that’s what I believe, and I was not informing anybody,” she told reporters. “It was just something that I stood for.”

Local residents have rallied around Golden by purchasing a billboard not too far from her property that reads “In God We Trust.” Others have verbally expressed support for the right to display the sign.

“[N]ot only has my phone been ringing off the hook, but people would see me in the community and say, ‘Don’t let that sign go down.”

The Liberty Institute, a local Christian legal organization, has taken the case.  Attorney Michael Berry, by written correspondence, asserted that the state’s actions violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution.

“Such a total ban on Mrs. Golden having a sign or imposing additional restrictions is a substantial burden on her religious calling and mission of displaying the Ten Commandments in the manner she was called to do on her private property and the state has no compelling interests to support such a total bans,” the letter reads.

“It is outrageous that TXDOT is preventing Texans from having signs on their own private property,” Berry also told reporters. “Religious freedom and private property rights are some of the most sacred rights Texans and Americans enjoy, dating back to the founding of Texas and our nation. It is also shocking that a TXDOT attorney would belittle the religious beliefs of Texans.”

Berry was referring to an email that came to light from TXDOT attorney Ron Johnson that asked, “I wonder how they’d feel about a quote from the Quran?”

Would the Texas Department of Transportation require the removal of a sign with a quote from the Quran?  I am betting the answer is, “No.”

However, I am wondering if “Yes” will be the answer to other questions in the near future…

For example: Would the Texas Department of Transportation ticket people for carrying a Bible while walking along the side of the road because it is visible to drivers?  Should a bumper sticker relaying a Christian message and a website be required to be permitted as commercial advertising?

One question regarding Mrs. Golden’s situation remains.  Would Mrs. Golden have been asked to take the sign down if it had a huge rainbow on it, and proclaimed “Support Gay Marriage?”

– Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Texas DOT Orders Ten Commandments Sign to be Removed from Private Property – Christian News Network