A student in Oklahoma fought for the removal of the Ten Commandment plaques that have hung in classrooms in the Muldrow Public Schools since they were donated in the ’90s — and he won.
Gage Pulliam, a junior at a Muldrow Public School and non-believer, spearheaded the fight when he informed the Freedom from Religion Foundation about the plaques, as TheBlaze reported.
The FFRF sent a letter to the school district on May 1, threatening to sue the district over the presence of the plaques on the basis of violation of church and state. Rather than risk a court battle with FFRF, the district removed all the plaques by May 10.
At a school board meeting held on Monday, many attendees wore religious t-shirts and brought Bibles to show their support of the Ten Commandment plaques, as the Times-Record reported.
“The commandments have been there ever since I can remember, ever since elementary school,” Blakely Palafox, a senior at Muldrow, told KFSM-TV. “I think it’s actually kind of stupid to take away something so important to our school. Those Ten Commandments have been there forever.”
But, despite the support, school attorney Jerry Richardson told the crowd there wasn’t anything the district could do.
“They [members of the school board] wish the Ten Commandments could remain in the classrooms,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is my unpleasant job to tell you the situation is otherwise.”
The FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor, on the other hand, praised the actions of the school board.
“We are pleased the school administration has removed the Ten Commandments, in compliance with the Constitution,” she said in a press release. “This is settled law. Public schools cannot advance or endorse religion.”
Pulliam told his story to the Friendly Atheist blog and stated that his intent was not to attack religion, but rather “to create an environment for kids where they can feel equal.”
