OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A satanic group from New York is seeking donations to build a monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol, where a monument of the Ten Commandments already stands.
The Satanic Temple is soliciting donations on its website so it can erect and donate a public monument to Oklahoma's Capitol Preservation Commission to "complement and contrast the Ten Commandments monument that already resides" on the grounds.
"By accepting our offer, the good people of Oklahoma City will have the opportunity to show that they espouse the basic freedoms spelled out in the Constitution," a message from the organization said.
A message on the organization's website referred to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that noted the Ten Commandments monument "stands alone, with no other monuments or memorials in the immediate vicinity." The monument was donated to the Capitol Preservation Commission in 2009 by state Rep. Mike Ritze, an ordained Southern Baptist minister.
The group is seeking $20,000 in donations and has received more than $16,000 in its campaign.
"We are keenly attuned to the need for a public-friendly design and plan is to make our monument an object of play for young children," the Satanic Temple said on its website. "The Satanic Temple is accepting donations toward the production and placement of this historic and important monument to religious diversity."
