Atheist monument at Florida courthouse unveiled Saturday: A group of atheists unveiled a monument at a Florida courthouse next to the Ten Commandments that honored their disbelief in God.

The atheist monument is in front of the Broward County, Florida courthouse. It will sit alongside a granite slab that lists the Ten Commandments. The atheist group who put it up believes it may be the first atheist monument allowed on government property in the U.S.

"When you look at this monument, the first thing you will notice is that it has a function . . . we selected to place this monument in the form of a bench," said David Silverman, president of American Atheists.

Protesters against the atheists blasted Christian country music and waved placards that said "Honk For Jesus".

The bench will serve as a counter to the Ten Commandments, which the American Atheists wanted removed.

The American Atheists, a New Jersey based group, sued in an attempt to have the religious monument removed from the conservative Florida town's courthouse lawn.

They were not successful, but during mediation on the case, the atheist group were given permission to have a monument alongside the Ten Commandments.

The Community Men's Fellowship erected the monument in front of the courthouse.

"We're not going to let them do it without a counterpoint," Silverman said. "If we do . . . it's going to appear very strongly that the government actually endorses one religion over another, or - I should say - religion in general over non-religion."

The bench had quote from luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. It was also inscribed with a list of Old Testament punishments for violating the Ten Commandments.

About 200 people came, mostly in support of the atheist monument. One protester said, "We do feel like it's a stick in the eye to the Christian people of Florida to have these outsiders come down here with their money and their leadership and promote their outside values here."

At one point, a Christian protester jumped onto the monument and thanked the atheists for "giving him a platform" to declare the validity of Jesus.

The atheists were unsurprised that there were protesters. "There always are," said Rick Wingrove, director of a Washington, D.C., area office of American Atheists. "We protest their events, they protests our events. As long as everybody's cordial and let people speak. This is our day, not theirs. We're fine with them being here."