Court Bars Religious Tiles From Columbine Memorial
Posted on 06/27/2002 6:54:57 PM PDT by RCW2001
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Court Bars Religious Tiles From Columbine Memorial
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| June 27 — DENVER (Reuters) - School officials were within their rights to bar Christian messages that families of victims of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre had painted on tiles for an on-campus school memorial, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday. "By allowing a tile stating 'God is Love,' the (school) district would be obligated to post tiles stating 'God is Hate,"' the appellate judges wrote. The decision came a day after another federal appeals court in San Francisco set off a national debate by ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional because it contained the words "under God." The California decision, which was criticized across the political spectrum, was put hold Thursday pending a review by a broader panel of appellate judges. The Columbine tiles contained messages such as "God is Love" and "4/20/99 Jesus Wept" referring to the date that two students, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, stormed the school and fatally wounded 12 fellow students and a teacher before killing themselves in the school library. PREVENT RELIGIOUS DEBATE "We believe that the (school) district's restriction on religious symbols was reasonably related to its legitimate goal of preventing disruptive religious debate on the school's walls," the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0. The parents of Daniel Rohrbough and Kelly Fleming, two students who were shot to death, painted the messages in remembrance of their children. The glazed tiles, created by Columbine families, rescue workers and others related to the massacre, were to assist in the school community's psychological healing from the shooting rampage and were to be put up in the school building. The 37-page decision by the court in Colorado overturned a lower court order issued last year which concluded the school district's decision to bar the religious tiles violated the families' right to free speech. The lower court's injunction required the district to post the Christian messages, and the Jefferson County school district appealed. Several national conservative Christian groups, such as the National Association of Evangelicals and Focus on the Family, supported the two families in the appeal as friends of the court. |
Another STUPID decision.
Another example of why we must get the Senate back, and get some decent judges in place.
Whatever judges wrote this illogical idiocy should be removed from the bench.
Eagles UP....Jim
This ruling is an insult.
The First Amendment gurantees Freedon of Religion, not Freedom from Religion. I hope this one goes all the way to the Supreme Court.
Yes that horrible, horrible, close-minded idealology that God is love. We can't have the chilens hearing that.
"the (school) district would be obligated to post tiles stating 'God is Hate,"' the appellate judges wrote.
And where do they get that line of reasoning from? Did it take all 3 of them to come up with such a brilliant assesment? Great minds think alike eh?
These judges are in effect dancing on the graves of the Columbine victims here.
What a great idea; yes, let us all now honor the dead of Columbine High and their freedom by calling their faith in God and their freedom to express their faith on government property unconstitutional (their faith in government is of course constitutional however). And while we're at it, since the states are under federal jurisdiction, let us honor the dead by proclaiming any mention of God anywhere unconstitutional.
I'm so glad that after all these years the true reason behind the Bill of Rights is being advocated. God bless America!!..uh, I mean, uh....
Mile high city, prince of the power of the air, satanist judges, heathen nation, provokes the Ruler of the Universe, about to be spewed out.
In the book 1984 their already exsisted a society intolerant of thought crimes. It seems my friend that we are living through the transition period to that nightmare, and it isn't very easy is it?
Shall we go without a wimper?
Kinda defeats the purpose of free-speech in the first place.
Folks, the inmates are running the asylum. The Republic is dead.
I know the left likes to argue that God had nothing to do with the Constitution. I guess they believe that most of the framers were athiests and agnostics. The liberals also in the same breath claim that we need to tear down the status quo of Christian-like beliefs that propagate our youths' minds which is a result of years of historical Christian brainwashing.
To claim that historical America is not one nation under God is an absolute joke with no basis in fact or history.
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