Atheists to pursue 10 commandment site if county sells
In Crawfordsville, the Montgomery County commissioners decided to sell off the portion of county land where their 10 Commandments monument used to be to a private group so the monument could legally be replaced (it was removed in 2001 due to a lawsuit by the ICLU). The plan looked good, but there is a new wrinkle:
Earl Myler, who heads a company that designs and builds churches, proposed this month to Montgomery County commissioners a plan to buy the property in order to return a Ten Commandments monument to the lawn, where a previous monument was removed in 2001.
Ken Lewis said his atheist group would bid against Myler’s company if the commissioners endorsed Myler’s proposal.
The process should be legal to permit the commandments monument, Myler company officials said, because freedom of speech can be exercised on private property.
Several county officials received an e-mail last week from Lewis, who wrote that his group wanted to erect a monument reading, “Freedom from Religion.”
Lewis said an anonymous benefactor has pledged money to outbid Myler if the commissioners decide to put the land up for sale.
