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(12/9/2005)
Idaho Supreme Court Looks at Ten Commandments Hears arguments on voter initiative BOISE, Dec. 8 /Christian Wire Service/ -- The Idaho Supreme Court to hear arguments regarding putting a voter initiative on the ballot giving the citizens of Boise the right to vote on returning the Ten Commandments Monument back to Julia Davis Park. The case will be heard on Friday, December 9th, at 10:00am in the Idaho State Supreme Court building at 451 W. State St. The court case was brought by the Keep the Commandments Coalition after the Boise City Council refused to put an initiative on the ballot allowing the residents to vote on returning the Ten Commandments back to Julia Davis Park. This, in spite of the fact that over 19,000 registered voters signed petitions asking the City Council to allow a vote on the issue. If the Keep the Commandments Coalition wins, this would be the nation's first voter initiative on the public display of the Ten Commandments. Brandi Swindell, Co-Director of the Keep the Commandments Coalition, states, "Our hope is that the Idaho Supreme Court will rule in favor of the democratic process and allow the citizens of Boise to vote on this issue. The right to vote is one of the most cherished rights and liberties that we enjoy as Americans. The ability for citizens to voice their opinions, through the ballot process, is the cornerstone of a free and democratic nation and must be protected." Bryan Fischer, the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance and co-director of the Keep the Commandments Coalition, said, "The city has used a legal technicality to deprive us of our right to vote. But the Idaho Supreme Court has said that the right to vote is our most 'cherished and fundamental right' and so we're optimistic that the court will rule in our favor. "The display we propose has already survived a court challenge. It's identical to a display that was ruled constitutional by a federal judge in 1995, and the constitution hasn't changed in the last 10 years."
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