The allegedly unconstitutional county seal
Posted on 09/10/2004 1:47:40 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Friday, September 10, 2004
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on a proposed new county seal next week after a threatened lawsuit caused the lawmakers to delete a tiny cross from the logo.
The allegedly unconstitutional county seal |
As WorldNetDaily reported, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, threatened to sue the county if the board did not redesign the seal. The law group claimed the small cross violated the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The board voted 3-2 June 1 in closed session to acquiesce to the ACLU and remove the cross from the 47-year-old logo.
Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky, Gloria Molina and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke voted to negotiate with the ACLU to remove the cross. Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe objected.
The supervisors voting to ditch the cross argued that a protracted legal fight would cost too much money. However, several law organizations that saw nothing wrong with the cross offered to defend the county for free.
Besides the tiny cross, the seal also includes a Spanish galleon, a tuna, the Hollywood Bowl, engineering instruments, oil derricks, a prize cow and Goddess Pomona, the Roman goddess of gardens and fruit trees.
According to the Torrance Daily Breeze, the new seal removes the oil derricks, moves the Hollywood Bowl to the derricks' former place and replaces Goddess Pomona with a Native American woman. Some had argued if the cross were removed due to its religious nature, the pagan goddess would have to go as well.
Also added is an image of the San Gabriel Mission, in the Hollywood Bowl's former spot, ostensibly to represent the influence of religion in the county without using a cross.
"The county decided to substitute an unconstitutional symbol with another that is presumably constitutional, and yet reflects the same thing: the role of the missionaries in the founding of Los Angeles," Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen told the Breeze.
An agreement with the ACLU states seals on clothes and other items that will wear out can be replaced with the item. Larger versions of the seal, such as those on buildings, would have to be replaced immediately. Janssen says the entire project will cost something less than $1 million.
"It's so outrageous that we would change the seal when we have so many other things that need funding," Knabe told the local paper.
"If I had my preference, I'd keep the old seal. This is an effort to be overly politically correct and not even attempt to fight for what is right."
According to the report, Antonovich criticized the depiction of the San Gabriel Mission on the new seal, noting that it lacks the cross that literally sits on the mission's roof.
He says the building looks "similar to an apartment house or a warehouse. It's a waste of tax dollars, time and energy to appease a radical organization's agenda. Rewriting history has always been wrong."
There is a petition effort under way to put the issue to the voters in March. Even if an initiative passes, however, supervisors who voted to change the logo claim the ACLU would still win a lawsuit against the county.
The ACLU is a vestigial organ of the civil rights movement that just refuses to die.
They should go to work in countries with real civil rights issues... Like Iran.
American Christian Lynching Union strikes again.
"Also added is an image of the San Gabriel Mission, in the Hollywood Bowl's former spot, ostensibly to represent the influence of religion in the county without using a cross."
How nice. Christianity without the cross. I'm sure they feel much better now. That nasty old cross is just WAY too scary for too many people.
The seal needs a tricked out low rider and a scalpel to represent plastic surgeons.
I never thought I'd ever see the day when even vampires would have activists working for them. Garlic, holy water, and wooden stakes are next.
I honestly can't imagine that fighting these anarchists would cost more than this. Doesn't anybody have the guts to tell these people to go to he&&?! So what if they win a lawsuit? Ignore it! Refuse to pay the court! Revolt! Damn, somebody show some guts!
I think Los Angeles County would have to import some conservatives to cause any kind of revolt over this.
Keep in mind, that the results of the recall of the governor showed that Gray Davis won the counties of Los Angeles and San Francisco. In other words, Schwarzenegger was too conservative for them.
In fact, if you go to the state forums at DU you'll see that they're trying to recall Schwarzenegger!
Old on the left, New on the right.
The joke on LA talk radio is the new "Native American" is holding a tray full of slot machine winnings. Note the oil reference is gone and the Mission has no cross!
The LA County Board should've grown a spine on this one - hope they get voted out this time.
If so, it's still in violation (gag) of the separation of church and state - or should be according to the ACLU.
So change it NOW or I'll drop a dime on ya.
It is the real "new" seal to be voted on. The LA Times did a blow-up analysis of the changes.
Well then, I guess I'll have to make a LD call today and raise my objections :-)
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