MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Public Property; Judiciary

By: Senator(s) White (29th), King, Chaney, Hyde-Smith, Kirby, Scoper

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE DISPLAY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON PUBLIC 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 the state or its political subdivisions.

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