On Friday, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill came out in support of two constitutional amendments that will be on the November 6 ballot. One would authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on state property, including schools, and the other would support the “sanctity of unborn life” in Alabama’s constitution.
The amendment authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments was authored by Republican Senator Gerald Dial, who said he would defend it as far as the Supreme Court. No state funds would be used to defend the law.
Dean Young, chairman of the Ten Commandments Amendment political action committee, who said he’s been fighting for the Ten Commandments amendment for 17 years, stated, “Do the people of Alabama want to acknowledge God, the God of the Old and New Testament, the Christian God? Do we want to acknowledge the God that our nation was founded upon? Alabamians will vote, they will reckon on that day with God how they vote on this, that’s how serious this is. Either we stand for God or we won’t.”
The second amendment on the November ballot, sponsored by Republican Rep. Matt Fridy, would not prohibit abortion, because federal law permits it, but it would ban any provision of the constitution from providing the right to an abortion or requiring funding of abortions.