By a unanimous vote, the state house of Louisiana has sent to the Senate a bill that would call for a monument to the Ten Commandments to be placed at the state capitol.

Democratic Representative Patrick Williams, the bill's author, said he recognizes the First Amendment provides for separation of church and state and that the intent of his bill is not to promote the religious importance of the commandments.
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"The significance is historical," he told Reuters. "Our laws are based on the Ten Commandments. In fact, without them, a lot of our laws would not exist."

Williams' bill provides for installation of a monument up to six feet tall, to be paid for with private donations. He says he modeled the bill on a Texas law that allowed placement of a granite monument displaying the Commandments on the Texas Capitol grounds, where it stands among more than a dozen monuments to historical figures and events.