Aug 5, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The nation's first voter initiative on the public display of the Ten Commandments is to be held in Boise, Idaho this fall, thrusting the debate concerning the public expression of religious symbols in the public square “back in the hands of the American people where it belongs.”
Religious rights and freedom advocates call the Boise initiative an exciting and innovative approach to confronting the loss of religious speech and expression in the public square.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Director of the Washington, DC-based Christian Defense Coalition, said that “the citizens of Boise are giving hope to millions of Americans who have become discouraged by the public loss of religious expression and the tyranny of activist judges.”
“It is my hope that scores of communities across America will follow the example of Boise and hold similar voter initiatives on the Ten Commandments,” he added.
“We are now taking the debate concerning the public display of the Ten Commandments out of the hands of judges, the courts and politicians and placing it back in the hands of the American people where it belongs,” said Brandi Swindell, Co-director of the Keep the Commandments Coalition in Boise.