A Ten Commandments monument donated to Tarrant County will be placed on county grounds after it was approved in a 3-1 vote during the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday.
All three Republican commissioners voted in favor of allowing the monument to be on county grounds with Alisa Simmons, a Democrat, citing separation of church and state as one of her reasons for voting against it. Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. was absent from Tuesday's meeting.
Approval of the monument was added to the agenda by Commissioner Matt Krause. This was the first item he had put on the agenda since his election.
"I think those are all things, regardless of your religion or if you're not religious or what you believe or don't believe, those are all good reminders for us," Krause said regarding the commandments.
The Ten Commandments provides a moral framework that emphasizes the importance of caring for the vulnerable and upholding justice, Simmons said.
"Why would we, this Commissioner's Court, put a monument to the very things we do not uphold on this court?" she asked.
Simmons mentioned cuts to county and social services, and reduced assistance for vulnerable members of the community.
Two years ago, commissioners rejected sending state funds to Girls Inc. of Tarrant County, which offers school-based and community programming for 5- to 18-year-old girls.
But concerns about the organization’s support of LGBTQ issues and reproductive rights resulted in a 3-2 vote to deny Girls Inc. $115,334 for its ‘Girl Power!’ program, which focuses on self-esteem, stress management, healthy relationships and hygiene.
County Judge Tim O'Hare and Commissioner Manny Ramirez were two of the three Republican commissioners who voted it down — and two of the three who approved the Ten Commandments monument.
There is a Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 did not violate the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. Krause said the monument donated to Tarrant County will be nearly identical to the one on the state's capitol grounds.
The monument and upkeep will be privately funded through the American History and Heritage Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2015 dedicated to "educating and informing the public about American history and heritage," according to its website.
First Liberty Institute, a legal organization that exclusively focuses on religious liberty, has offered to represent the county for free if faces with litigation over the monument, said Krause, who is a lawyer with First Liberty Institute.
"I think it will be a great monument to put in Tarrant County to reaffirm our dedication to the rule of law, the history and tradition of America and Texas, and it's something I think we can all rally around," Krause said.
It's not the first time the former state representative has supported the Ten Commandments on government property.
Krause spoke in favor of Senate bills 10 and 11 last month, which would require public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments and provide students with time to pray during school hours.
Similar to Tuesday, Krause referenced the 2022 Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case, which the Supreme Court ruled public schools cannot bar employees or students from engaging in religious practices like prayer.
That decision threw out a "lemon test" used to determine if a public display was a violation of the First Amendment and replaced it with a test that prioritizes historical practices and understandings.
"I can't think of anything more historical or traditional in American history and Texas history than the Ten Commandments," Krause said.
Kelly Shackelford, CEO and Chief Counsel at First Liberty Institute, said in a statement that displaying the Ten Commandments on public grounds was consistent with Supreme Court decisions that recognized religious heritage and the nation’s history and traditions.
"The Ten Commandments are a symbol of law and moral conduct with both religious and secular significance for all Americans," Shackelford said in the statement. "We applaud the Commissioners Court for taking this bold step for religious liberty."
But some Tarrant County residents, like Reed Bilz, opposed the decision to approve the monument.
"It violates the First Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits establishment of a religion, and the Christian monument does not represent American history since our founders came to our shores to escape religious persecution, such as this display," Bilz said.
This story was updated to correct the name of Reed Bilz.
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