Ten Commandments Supporters Rallying Around Roy Moore

Dec 16, 2002 01:24 PM EST

Christian leaders from around the nation will head to Alabama this week in a show of support for that state’s chief justice and his efforts to protect the Ten Commandments.

Last month, a federal court ruled that a granite monument displaying the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Judicial Building had to be removed within 30 days. But Chief Justice Roy Moore, who had the monument placed in the building, announced earlier this week his plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.

On Monday morning, American Veterans in Domestic Defense (AVIDD) will hold a rally in Montgomery for Justice Moore. Pastor Wiley Drake is organizing the event.

"I believe we're at a point where we must go back to the Ten Commandments and the Constitution," Drake says. "The Constitution is very important to this country -- but even more important, legally speaking as well as religiously speaking, is the Ten Commandments. And the ACLU and other [groups] are wanting it out."

The California-based pastor says it is important to support Justice Moore.

"We believe this is the [proverbial] 'drawing of the line in the sand.' It's very important to preserve the Ten Commandments," he says, "and we believe that Judge Moore has taken a strong stand and is being left out there by himself, and we want to support him. But even more so, we want to support God's Ten Commandments."

The rally, which will take place at the Capitol in Montgomery, will be preceded by several speeches at the Judicial Building in support of both the Constitution and the Ten Commandments. The keynote speaker is scheduled to be Retired U.S. Marine Corps General Ray Davis, the nation's most decorated living veteran.

By Allie Martin