OK Capitol Getting New Ten Commandments Display

An Oklahoma legislator has ordered a new Ten Commandments monument for the statehouse lawn after someone intentionally destroyed a previous monument by driving their car across the lawn and smashing into it.

Republican state Rep. Mike Ritze's family paid $10,000 for the original 6-foot-tall monument that was erected in 2012.

"We can't repair the old one, so we have ordered another monument identical to the one that was torn down," Ritze said. "The fundraising is ongoing."

Like the first one, the new granite display will be built entirely with private funds.

An Oklahoma County judge upheld the monument in September, saying it serves a secular - not religious - purpose and does not violate the state constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union has appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

The monument's placement has led others to seek their own display on the Capitol grounds, including a satanic group that earlier this year had constructed a 7-foot-tall statue of Satan as a goat-headed figure.