ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) -- Hardin County officials want to model a historical display that includes the Ten Commandments after a Mercer County display that survived a legal challenge.

But an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky says that won’t prevent his organization from challenging a Hardin County display of the Ten Commandments.

“Any county that chooses to put it up is asking for a fight and is fomenting division among its citizens. And it’s an unnecessary divisive fight to have,” said David Friedman, general counsel for the ACLU of Kentucky.

Members of a county committee were waiting on the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Kentucky against the inclusion of the Ten Commandments in the Mercer County display before making suggestions on the details of the historical document display.

A federal court decision found the display at the county courthouse in Harrodsburg was constitutional, and a three-judge panel of the 6^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld that decision.

“Why would we want to do anything different than Mercer County?” Hardin County Magistrate Roy Easter said. “I don’t want to put us in harm’s way, where we have to pay for some kind of lawsuit.”

Friedman said the ACLU would not hesitate in challenging a Ten Commandments display if the action seemed appropriate. He said the best way to avoid a potential lawsuit is to not create a display.

“That’s the safe and responsible route: Remain neutral toward religion,” he said. “In a pluralistic society like ours, we best protect religious freedom for all of us when government doesn’t take a position favoring or disfavoring any religious view.”

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Information from: The News-Enterprise, http://www.newsenterpriseonline.com

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)