MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2003 Regular Session

To: Education

By: Senator(s) Jackson

Senate Bill 2016

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE DISPLAY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

     WHEREAS, the Ten Commandments are a declaration of fundamental principles that are the cornerstone of a fair and just society; and

     WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence declares that governments are instituted to secure certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with which all human beings are endowed by their Creator to which they are entitled by the laws of nature and of nature's God; and

     WHEREAS, the organic laws of the United States Code and the constitutions of every state, using various expressions, recognize God as the source for the blessings of liberty; and

     WHEREAS, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Section 18 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 secure rights against laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and

     WHEREAS, disputes and doubts have arisen with respect to public displays of the Ten Commandments; NOW, THEREFORE,

     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

     SECTION 1.  The Ten Commandments may be displayed on or within property owned or administered by any school district within the State of Mississippi.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.