A controversial proposal has now become a law... and it may put the Oklahoma State Government right in the middle of a fierce legal battle.

The new state law allows for a monument of the Ten Commandments to be placed on the grounds of the State Capitol. It's a move that's already been tried--and challenged in other states, including Texas, but lawmakers say they're confident the law is legal.

State Representative Mike Ritze authored House Bill 1330. It was signed into law on Monday allowing for a monument of the 10 commandments to be placed on the State Capitol Grounds. The $10,000 price tag is funded by Representative Ritze. He says that he wrote the bill and decided to fund it... it to honor the foundation and origin of the state's law system.

"I just thought it was a great idea to emphasize and remphasize where many of our laws come from," Ritze said. "From the ten commandments, it's been in place for 3500 years as we know, we get our laws from English law. English law comes from Roman law. Roman law comes subsequently from Mosiac law"

The proposed monument would be on the grounds of the state capitol, likely in the south area. But before construction can even begin, the ACLU says it's unconstitutional.

"We belive its not for a secular purpose," said Tamya Cox, Leglislative Counsel for the ACLU of Oklahoma. "It's very religious in nature.. and the court has determined that when a monument is religious in nature, has no secular purpose, and is endorsing a religion, then it's unconstitutional."

Cox says the ACLU is battling a Ten Commandments case right now in Stigler, in Haskell County, where a similar monument was placed on the grounds of the courthouse there. A US district court allowed that monument, but the ACLU has appealed that decision.

Meanwhile... Cox says Oklahomans should be concerned at what she calls an attack on the Consitution.
    
"We all need to uphold the bill of rights and the constitution," Cox said. "That's really what our focus needs to be about and even though they don't care about the monument we all need to care about the constitution, and I think everyone can get behind the constitution."

Representatative Ritze announced the official wording of the Ten Commandments monument will come from the King James Version. As far as the ACLU goes, they say they've yet to decide their next move.

We did contact the governor's office today, he declined comment on the issue.

Part of the bill indicates that if the state is sued, the case will be deferred to the state attorney general or the Legal Liberty Institute, an effort to save taxpayer money, according to Representative Ritze.

Read the Haskell County lawsuit filing: www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/green.pdf
Read the bill as proposed: webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2009-10bills/hb/hb1330_enr.rtf