OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma Senate panel has passed a bill that would allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed on public property despite concerns that the measure is unconstitutional.
The Oklahoman reports the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the measure Tuesday. It now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.
In 2015, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma that a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol grounds had to be removed because it violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
Republican state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom says the bill doesn't violate the state Constitution's Blaine Amendment, which prohibits the use of public money or property for the direct or indirect benefit of any religion or religious institution.
Ryan Kiesel, the union's executive director, calls the measure a political stunt.
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