Oklahoma is under attack once again by a satanist organization that is seeking to remove an ordinance outlawing the distribution of literature profanely mocking Christianity.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) contacted the attorney for Edmond, Oklahoma on Tuesday to request the removal of the ordinance because the foundation contends that it is unconstitutional.
The satanic FFRF was contacted by one anonymous citizen.
The ordinance at issue is under the “Public Peace and Safety” section, which prohibits speech and behavior that results in a breach of the peace.
“It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to circulate any literature or use any language within the corporate limits of the City of Edmond, that casts profane ridicule on God, Jesus, or Christianity, which in its common acceptance is calculated to cause a breach of the peace or an assault,” the ordinance states.
Other laws under the section prohibit displaying inflammatory signs that would cause a breach of the peace, disturbing religious worship services with “rude, indecent or improper behavior” or generally using “obscene, offensive or abusive language” on the streets in a manner that causes a public uproar.
The FFRF states that the blasphemy law protects Christianity more than other religions, or atheism, and violates the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech.
“The law promotes religion, specifically Christianity, over nonreligion and other minority religion,” its letter reads. “It establishes Christianity as the chosen religion and suppresses the free exercise of all others by placing the religious sensibilities of Christians on a pedestal and punishing those who might attempt to ridicule them.”
“This law also violates the First Amendment’s protection of the freedom of speech by punishing people for merely uttering a phrase that would once have been considered a sin against God without an appropriate constitutional justification,” it asserts. “While it may be permissible to put a restriction on speech that is calculated to cause a breach of the peace or an assault, it is not permissible to extend this restriction only to speech that ridicules God, Jesus or Christianity.”
Therefore the FFRF organization is requesting that this law be struck from the books. This is not the first time Oklahoma has come under attack by a satanic group, previously Oklahoma has had a couple of duals with the ACLU and other “atheistic” organizations that actively seek to remove Christianity from the state.
In 2014, a man drove his car directly into the ten commandments and claimed that satan told him to.
A man says Satan told him to plow his car into the Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol building. Oklahoma Highway Patrol has identified the man as Michael Tate Reed Jr., 29, of Roland, Okla. Reed has been taken to an Oklahoma County mental facility for an emergency order of detention and mental evaluation. Around 7 p.m. Thursday, troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to a vehicle that crashed into the statue. The driver was nowhere to be found, said OHP spokesman Capt. George Brown.” — Read More
After the Ten Commandments were repaired, in 2015 a court ruled that the State monument must come down.
A Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is a religious symbol and must be removed because it violates the state’s constitutional ban on using public property to benefit a religion, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The court said the Ten Commandments chiseled into the 6-foot-tall granite monument, which was privately funded by a Republican legislator, are “obviously religious in nature and are an integral part of the Jewish and Christian faiths.”
The 7-2 ruling overturns a decision by a district court judge who determined the monument could stay. It prompted calls by a handful of Republican lawmakers for impeachment of the justices who said the monument must be removed.
Attorney General Scott Pruitt had argued that the monument was historical in nature and nearly identical to a Texas monument that was found constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Oklahoma justices said the local monument violated the state’s constitution, not the U.S. Constitution.
“Quite simply, the Oklahoma Supreme Court got it wrong,” Pruitt said in a statement. “The court completely ignored the profound historical impact of the Ten Commandments on the foundation of Western law.” — Read More
Before the court ruling in 2015, the satanic temple had sought to place a statue of Baphomet, next to the Ten Commandments, but was struck down because the people rejected it.
After the decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to remove the Ten Commandments Monument outside the state Capitol, the Satanic Temple is now looking for another home for its Baphomet monument.
In 2012, Rep. Mike Ritze paid for the installation of a Ten Commandments Monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol’s front lawn.
Since he paid for the Commandments himself, it was classified as a donation and was allowed to be placed on government property.
After the Ten Commandments Monument was placed at the Oklahoma Capitol, the Satanic Temple announced that it wanted to donate a public monument to “complement and contrast” the monument on the grounds.
The proposed Baphomet monument features the devil in goat form.
“We decided to go with that because it is a fairly traditional character,” said Lucien Greaves, with The Satanic Temple. “It also offers a lap that visitors can come to sit on, have their picture taken with.”
When the Ten Commandments Monument was destroyed last year, the Satanic Temple said it would stop its plans of building a statue if the monument was not rebuilt.
Rep. Ritze decided to replace the monument, which meant the Satanic Temple would continue to fight for placement at the Capitol.
Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandments Monument must be removed from the state Capitol.
Since it will no longer be in place, the Satanic Temple is now forced to look for a new home for Baphomet. – Read More
In 2016, the people voted to have the Ten Commandments statue rebuilt and replaced after the court ruling.
The Oklahoma House has adopted a resolution that asks voters to return a Ten Commandments monument to the Oklahoma Capitol grounds.
The House voted 86-10 for the measure Wednesday and sent it to the state Senate, which is also expected to adopt it.
The resolution calls for a statewide vote of the people on whether to abolish an article of the Oklahoma Constitution that prohibits the use of state funds to support a religion.
House Joint Resolution 1062, by state Rep. Randy Grau, removes a section of the Oklahoma State Constitution that provides that “public money or property cannot be used directly or indirectly for any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion.”
“When we learned that the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the Ten Commandments monument removed from the Capitol, everyone was surprised,” said Grau, R-Edmond, an attorney and Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “The ruling went against clear legal precedent supporting the placement of such monuments on government property. Our state’s highest court misinterpreted the Constitution, and we had no choice but to send the question to the people of Oklahoma regarding the public display of such monuments. Today, the House voted overwhelmingly to do that. ” — Read More
It is fairly evident that satan and his minions are after Oklahoma. What say you reader?