Satan might be sitting at the Oklahoma Statehouse if a purported satanic group gets its way. The Satanic Temple submitted plans for a "Satan Statue" to be erected in the wake of new state laws that paved the way for a 10 Commandments monument.

According to Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, "The monument has been designed to reflect the view of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond."

But the new Satan statue isn't just for design. The infernal structure is also functional. Greaves says "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."

But The Satanic Temple might not be true Satanists. In an interview with Vice magazine, one of the Temple of Satan founders said "while the original thinking was that the Satanic Temple needed to hold to some belief in a supernatural entity known as 'Satan,' none of us truly believed that. ... We've moved well beyond being a simple political ploy and into being a very sincere movement that seeks to separate religion from superstition and to contribute positively to our cultural dialogue."

So, it's more of a devilish anti-defamation group. A kind of Luciferan civil rights group. The Satanic Temple, based in New York, saw this legal battle.  Real Satanists think the statue is kind of offensive. Church of Satan Magus Peter H. Gilmore, who succeed Anton Lavey, posted his objections to the design on the Church of Satan Web site: "The statue is crudely designed and ugly to me and seems pedophilic, since the caduceus between the goat's legs is a phallic symbol. ... The image appears to show the goat's left hand possibly caressing the male child. Revolting. The Church of Satan requires members to be legally adult and Satanist parents teach their children comparative religion and philosophy so that our children may decide which religion or philosophy would suit their own natures. We do not indoctrinate our offspring, or anyone else's, and that statue could be seen as symbolic of indoctrination, which is manifestly counter to our philosophy. It occurs to me that the efforts by the perpetrators of this proposal may be intended as a means for making Satanism appear foolish and just as dysfunctional and irrational as we secularists view most other religions to be."

The Satanic Temple, out of New York, formally submitted its application for a Satan statue to a panel that oversees the Oklahoma Capitol grounds. The design plans included a drawing of a statue of Satan as Baphomet, a goat-headed devil with horn sitting on a throne adorned with a pentagram with smiling children around him.

Conservatives brought this on themselves when they opened the door to mixing chuch and state. The Satanic Temples says that when the Oklahoma Legislature authorized a privately funded Ten Commandments monument at the Capitol they set a precedent.

The Satan Statue brought on similar requests by a Hindu leader in Nevada, an animal rights group and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission responded to the devilish doings by placing a moratorium on any new requests.

Commission Chairman Trait Thompson said "Anybody can still make their request, but we'll hold off on considering them until the lawsuit is adjudicated."

In 2009, Oklahoma's legislature, which was controlled by the religious right wing of the Republican party allowed a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments to be given a home on the grounds of the capitol. Legal experts said it was not allowed under the doctrine of the separation of church and states. The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued to have it removed.

The Satanic Temple got in touch with Oklahoma's Capitol Preservation Commission and told them they would like to donate a monument themselves. The satanic organization said they plan to submit one of several possible designs this month.

In a letter to Oklahoma officials, Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for The Satanic Temple wrote "We believe that all monuments should be in good taste and consistent with community standards. Our proposed monument, as an homage to the historic/literary Satan, will certainly abide by these guidelines."