Ten Commandments Monument In Sandpoint May Be Moving - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Ten Commandments Monument In Sandpoint May Be Moving

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by Cory Howard, KHQ.com Producer - email
KHQ.COM - A Ten Commandments monument sits in Farmin Park in Sandpoint, but perhaps not for long. KHQ.COM - A Ten Commandments monument sits in Farmin Park in Sandpoint, but perhaps not for long.
SANDPOINT, Idaho - A Ten Commandments monument sits in Farmin Park in Sandpoint, but perhaps not for long.

The monument has stood in Sandpoint's Farmin Park for many years, but recently the City of Sandpoint received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation out of Wisconsin recently asking for the removal of the monument under threat of pending litigation. The foundation says since the monument is religious in nature, it should not be on the public property of the park. The monument was donated by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles back in 1972. 

Word spread throughout the town that the monument would be taken down on Thursday, so a crowd of people showed up to protest. However, the City responded saying they don't plan to immediately remove the statue, but they are going to work with the Eagles to find a new location. 

The Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Annie Laurie Gaylor, told KHQ on Thursday, "We live in secular republic. Under our first amendment, you can have any God you like or none at all. It is not the business of the government to decide what God you should or shouldn't believe in."

The people of Idaho are frustrated with the entire situation. The Fraternal Order of the Eagles gave a statement to KHQ that read:

"We are not happy about it at all. We don't feel that some organization in Wisconsin can take this. What was this country built on? Freedom of religion, freedom of speech."

One resident of Sandpoint who was ready to protest the removal on Thursday echoed that statement and said, "When I see things that offend me I don't immediately run to have them removed, and I personally feel like religious liberties are being more and more encroached upon."

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