Activist judges don’t have the last word in the forum of public debate. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to silence one side. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled last week that the Ten Commandments monument sitting on the grounds of the state capitol is unconstitutional. But a decree from the Pathological Narcissistic Ruling Class, doesn’t necessarily put the matter to rest, at least in the Sooner State. “Oklahoma is a state where we respect the Rule of Law, and we will not ignore the state courts or their decisions,” Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said. “However, we are also a state with three co-equal branches of government.” The executive branch is petitioning the court to reconsider the case, and the legislature will consider amending the state’s constitution over the matter. Indeed, the debate over the display of the Ten Commandments has had a complicated history of late. The 7-2 ruling handed down by highest court in Oklahoma is the most recent round of a debate that has gone twice to the Supreme Court of the United States, where it ruled two different ways on the matter. Fallin’s response is also reminiscent of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s brave stand several years ago.

The “despotic branch” of which Jefferson warned may indeed have spoken, but the debate over the Decalogue — just like the debate over the definition of marriage — is far from over.