U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Right to Publicly Display Ten Commandments

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The United States Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a Utah city can display the Ten Commandments in a public park without giving quarter to a different religious viewpoint.

In a landmark 9-0 decision, the Court ruled that the City of Pleasant Grove, Utah, need not accommodate the demands of a small religious sect known as the Summum, who sued the city for rejecting a monument of the religion's "Seven Aphorisms" for display in the same park.

The sect had earlier convinced an appeals court that their free speech was violated by the city council's rejection, which had cited a requirement that park displays be related to city history or be donated by groups with longtime community ties.  The Summum were founded in Salt Lake City in 1975.

"It is hard to imagine how a public park could be opened up for the installation of permanent monuments by every person or group wishing to engage in that form of expression," wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the Supreme Court's decision.

The decision to uphold Pleasant Grove's right to display the Commandments could have widespread impact suggest commentators. 

"It's a landmark decision that clears the way for government to express its views and its history through the selection of monuments - including religious monuments and displays," said Jay Sekulow, an American Center for Law and Justice attorney who argued for the city.