Chesapeake officials: Keep your religion out of our public park
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4460
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
April 3, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
Chesapeake officials:
Keep your religion out of our public park
Cross displayed by Christian group deemed “blatantly Christian” and “offensive”
“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “Government officials have no right to harass or threaten citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights in public. Christians have the same free speech rights as anyone else in America.”
CRM President Steve Taylor founded the nonprofit group with the mission of sharing his beliefs with the public. On July 4, 2007, CRM members participated in Chesapeake’s Independence Day parade, along with other local community organizations, as a way to fulfill their mission. One member carried the cross.
After the parade, CRM and other groups were permitted to set up booths in a park. A city official told CRM that the cross they set up next to their booth was “way out there” and “blatantly Christian” and ordered them to remove it. Another official told CRM that the city would forcibly remove the cross without the group’s consent and that the display was “offensive.” CRM removed the cross from the booth and has not publicly shared its message again for fear of legal action by the city.
City officials did not respond to a letter sent by ADF attorneys on behalf of CRM in an attempt to resolve the situation.
“Singling out Christians or Christian groups for discrimination is unconstitutional and should not be permitted in Chesapeake,” Kellum said.
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, in Christian Rights Ministries v. City of Chesapeake is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/CRMComplaint.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
One Comment
This is a basic equal access question and which will, ultimately, be decided or resolved in favor of CRM, thanks to the good efforts of ADF. The problem continues that many City officials, threatened and intimidated by the ACLU, choose to believe that the law is otherwise. Bob Crutcher