Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Confused? Call Justice Breyer

From Cybercast News Service:
(CNSNews.com) - A conservative advocacy group says Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer should set up a toll-free number that city governments can call to find out if a Ten Commandments display is permissible.

Justice Breyer, a Clinton appointee, was the swing vote in both the Kentucky and Texas Ten Commandments cases, the Family Research Council said.

"Justice Breyer's reasoning will further confuse communities that wish to display religious monuments with historical significance -- or is that historic monuments with religious significance?" FRC President Tony Perkins said in a press release.

The difference between the two cases, according to Justice Breyer, was the intent behind the display:

A granite Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin was deemed to be historical by the court; but framed copies of the Ten Commandments hanging in two Kentucky courthouses could be construed as endorsing religion, the justices ruled.

"In both cases Justice Breyer apparently read the minds of the people behind the displays and decided the Texas case was meant to be historical, while in Kentucky the only intent was to proselytize," Perkins said.

"By guessing the 'intent' of the displayers, Justice Breyer turns displaying the Ten Commandments into a 'thought crime' -- where you can be punished not for what you do but what you intend to do."

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