Proposed Constitution Monument Sponsored By Citizens for a Secular Government Causes Controversy

A Maryland news source, the Cumberland Times-News, reports that the "president of a local historical group has asked the Allegany County Board of Commissioners to reverse its decision to allow a monument to the U.S. Constitution on public property. Edward W. Taylor Jr., of the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, said Wednesday during a public meeting that the monument’s 'editorialized' inscription and engraving that will recognize the donor, Citizens for a Secular Government, is 'very inappropriate.' In September, the commissioners approved an inscription for the monument and its location on the lawn of the Allegany County Circuit Courthouse on Washington Street. The monument would join a statue of George Washington and a monument of the Ten Commandments. Taylor said his group originally was supportive of the effort but backpedaled when Dr. Jeffrey Davis, the catalyst behind the Constitution monument, modified the inscription. 'Some of the editorialized paragraphing I do agree with,' Taylor said, 'but that’s what it is — it’s an editorialized monument. We see no reason why his editorialized version of the Constitution needs to be on public property.'" Tweet