Protestors Carry Picket Signs Outside McKenzie Arena
posted December 1, 2001
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy S. Moore said at a Ten Commandments rally Sunday it is "time for Christians to take a stand" in behalf of the Commandments and God.
Judge Moore said George Washington and other Founding Fathers established the nation upon God, but "do we acknowledge Him today? Do we trust Him today?"
Some 3,000 people attended the rally, though County Commissioner Curtis Adams and other organizers had hoped for as many as 10,000.
Those attending were greeted in front of McKenzie Arena by some 50 protestors carrying signs that said, "Zealots Inside, Patriots Outside" and "We Left England Over This."
Other picket signs read: "State And Church: Keep Them Separate" and "Hitler Mixed Church And State."
Across the street were opposing picket signs. A man with a cross had a sign saying, "The ACLU: Anti-Christ Organization." On another cross were the words, "ACLUs Are Servants Of Satan."
County Commissioner Bill Hullander was among four commissioners attending, along with Commissioner Adams, Charlotte Vandergriff and Harold Coker. The County Commission voted recently to post the Ten Commandments at the County Courthouse, Courts Building and Juvenile Court. Only Commissioner Richard Casavant opposed the move.
Officials said there will be a ceremony at the County Courthouse when the tablets are posted.
Also attending were County Clerk Bill Knowles and state Rep. Jim Vincent. No City Council members were present.
Three members of the Soddy-Daisy City Commission were in the front row. Soddy-Daisy is among area communities to also vote to post the Ten Commandments.
Justice Moore, who speaks around the nation on the Ten Commandment issue and who has been sued after he posted them at the capitol at Montgomery, cited where President Washington had invoked the provision of Almighty God and said he asked God's blessings on the country in his opening remarks upon taking office.
He said, "Today we've been convinced we can't even mention God in our classrooms."
Justice Moore said a reference to trusting God was placed in the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, but he said the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962 had a ruling on separation of church and state. He said, "We've been wandering in the wilderness for the 40 years since then."
He said America "was not founded on Buddah. It was not founded on Mohammad. It was not founded on Confucious. It was not founded on Islam. We don't put our hand on the Koran. We put our hand on the Bible. We were a nation established upon God."
The speaker said the Ten Commandments are "a higher law. They are a moral compass by which we are guided."
He illustrated his talk by dropping an egg onto the floor. He said, "When we deny the law of God, we make a mess."
With many in the audience shouting "Amen," he added, "We all violate the law. That's why we have Christ."
Justice Moore said, "God gave us government. If a nation denies God, it should be abolished."
He said of foes to the Ten Commandments, "Why are they so afraid of a God they say doesn't exist?"
Bruce Wilkey of the protest group said some came from as far away as Memphis and Atlanta.
Tres Wood, who is Jewish, said he came out to protest after learning that fragments of a Torah were to be at the rally. He said, "It's terrible that they took that holy object, cut it up and put it on display."
Justice Moore was presented parts of a Torah found in South Yemen that was over 300 years old. Dr. David Bouler, pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church, said the Torah had been given by a donor to Tennessee Temple Seminary. Dr. Bouler introduced Justice Moore.
Also speaking was the Rev. Herschel Walker, a Baptist pastor from Corbin, Ky., who heads the Ten Commandment Advancement Fund of Kentucky. He said a "liberal judge" had ruled against the display of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky, but the matter is on appeal before the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
Rev. Walker said his group is distributing the Ten Commandments everywhere it can in Kentucky - "at the state house, at McDonald's, at Burger King, at the hospital, at the service station, at the funeral home."
Justice Moore said the lawsuit against him is also on appeal. With him were lawyers who represent him from Wyoming and Virginia.
A group of AWANA youth recited the Ten Commandments.
Music was by The Premiers gospel group and the Temple Baptist Church orchestra and choir.
Charles Wysong, who organized the rally, also spoke.
Two offerings were taken up - one to pay the expenses of the rally and another for the ongoing Ten Commandments fight. Checks were to be made to the American Rights Coalition.
Framed copies of the Ten Commandments were on sale.
Justice Moore in 1995 was sued by the ACLU after he refused to take down from his courtroom a copy of the Ten Commandments he had carved out of redwood. He later won that suit and won election to the state's highest judicial post. In the Ten Commandments fight, he had the support of then-Gov. Fob James.
Roy S. Moore is a native of Etowah County, Alabama. He graduated from Etowah High School in 1965 and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1969 from the United States Military Academy at West Point then Moore returned to Alabama, where he completed his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1977 from The University of Alabama School of Law.
Judge Moore served as a Captain in the Military Police Corps of the United States Army. He also served as Battalion Staff Officer at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and as a Company Commander in Vietnam. During his professional career, Judge Moore became the first full-time Deputy District Attorney in Etowah County and served in this position from 1977 until 1982. He returned to private law practice in Gadsden, until he was elected Circuit Judge, Place Number One of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in Gadsden. Judge Moore served in this capacity from 1992 until his election as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama.
Judge Moore has received a number of national honors during his career. In 1995, he was presented with the George Washington Honor Medal from the National Freedom Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In 1997 he received the Bill of Rights award, the Christian Statesman of the Year Award, the Spirit of America Founders Award and the God and Country Award. Judge Moore continued to be honored in 1998 by the United States Taxpayer's Party, who presented him with the Andrew Jackson Champion of Liberty Award. Kentucky Governor Paul Patton awarded Judge Moore the highest honor awarded by the State of Kentucky and the Delaware House of Representatives honored him with Resolution No. 47. That same year, the State of California Republican Assembly endorsed Judge Moore by formal resolution at their annual convention calling him a "tireless defender of individual freedom and liberties."
In 1999, Judge Moore received the Family, Faith, and Freedom Citation presented by the Family Research Council in Washington, DC. He also received the 1999 National Spirit of Life Award from the African American Family Association and Michigan Governor John Engler and the State of Michigan presented him with a special tribute, calling Judge Moore, "a great American and an honorable judge." Judge Moore has appeared on the Today Show, 20/20, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News, CHH, CBN's "700 Club", Dr. D. James Kennedy's "Coral Ridge Hour", James Dobson's "Focus on the Family", C-Span, and other numerous national and regional radio and television programs. Articles concerning Judge Moore have appeared in USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Times, the Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle, the Atlanta Constitution, and others.
Judge Moore has authored numerous articles, and poetry. Among his selected writings are "Religion In The Public Square", published by Cumberland Law Review, Cumberland School of Law, Volume 29, No.2, 1998-1999, and "Putting God Back in the Public Square", Imprimis, Hillsdale College, Volume 28, No. 8, August, 1999.
Judge Moore is married to Kayla Moore and they have four children, Heather, Roy, Caleb and Micah. They are members of the First Baptist Church of Gallant, AL.
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