Ten Commandments Monument in Nebraska Cemetery: Another ACLU Lawsuit?
By Rusty Pugh, AFR News, August 30, 2000
(AgapePress) – City officials and some residents of Hastings, Nebraska, are concerned that a monument featuring the Ten Commandments at a city cemetery could be the target of the American Civil Liberties Union.
According to Mayor Phil Odom, the Parkview Cemetery marker was originally donated by The Fraternal Order of Eagles to the Hastings Museum in the early 1960s. It was later moved.
“As we grew and prospered in our community, eventually [it was felt] a better place [for the marker] would be out near the cemetery,” Odom says.
Despite the ACLU threat, Odum says there have been no complaints.
“It’s really something that’s been in [the Hastings Museum],” he says. “I think those that visit the cemetery certainly find it useful and pleasing. Other than that, it certainly isn’t bothering anyone where it’s located.”
Odum says there are many religious symbols and artifacts on the graves of loved ones at rest in the cemetery. The mayor says it is too early to know if a lawsuit will be filed.
“I have just been told that they were considering Hastings and other communities in Nebraska where groups like the Eagles have donated these stones or plaques to the community,” he says.
The Nebraska ACLU has stated that it intends to investigate Hastings and some other 50 monuments around the state.
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