A Satanic Temple has submitted an application and design for a statue of Satan to be placed on the state capitol grounds in Oklahoma City, next to a Ten Commandments monument erected in 2012.
The proposed statue would be a seven-foot tall goat-headed Baphomet that sits cross-legged, flanked by a smiling child on both sides,
according to KOCO-TV.
The New York-based Satanic Temple charges that the state legislature opened the door for their statue to be erected because of its approval of the privately funded Ten Commandments monument,
according to The Associated Press. The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit to remove the religious-themed monument.
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"The (Satan) monument has been designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond," temple spokesman Lucien Greaves told the AP in a statement. "The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation."
The temple told KOCO-TV that the back of the stone slab would use a quote from Lord Byron's "Cain," stating: "Then who was the Demon? He who would not let ye live, or he who would have made ye live forever, in the joy and power of Knowledge?"
State Rep. Don Armes said, per the AP, that the proposal doesn't stand a snowball's chance of ever getting approved by the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission.
"I think you've got to remember where you are. This is Oklahoma, the middle of the heartland," Armes said to the AP. "I think we need to be tolerant of people who think different than us, but this is Oklahoma, and that's not going to fly here."
The AP stated that the commission fired back at the Satanic Temple by placing a moratorium on any new requests.
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"Anybody can still make their request, but we'll hold off on considering them until the lawsuit is adjudicated," said commission Chairman Trait Thompson.
The AP reported that similar requests for monuments on public grounds have been made by other groups, including a Hindu leader in Nevada, an animal rights group and the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.