Posted on 08/13/2003 3:38:57 AM PDT by kattracks
(CNSNews.com) - In what has become a contentious struggle over First Amendment rights in Wisconsin, the La Crosse City Council is holding a special meeting Wednesday to decide whether to appeal a ruling in which a federal judge last month ordered the city to remove a Ten Commandments monument from a city park.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled July 14 that the monument made some community members feel "they did not belong in La Crosse unless they followed Judeo-Christian traditions.
"The First Amendment guarantees persons of all faiths that the government will treat them with equal concern and respect," Crabb wrote.
Francis Manion, senior counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice, called the order "separation of church and state run amok.
"As long as somebody in the locale takes offense at a particular display, the courts are bending over backward to make sure that this person is not offended. That's not what the Constitution requires," he said.
In a case that has taken a number of legal twists and turns, Crabb decided in favor of the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation in a suit involving a monument installed by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1965.
After the foundation filed the lawsuit, the city erected a fence around the monument and sold the parcel of land to the Eagles Club in a bid to save the display.
Crabb ruled, however, that the sale didn't show the city wanted to end its endorsement of religion but instead was trying to "disguise its intent." She ordered the property's return to the city and removal of the monument.
Annie Laurie Gaylor, a staff member of the foundation - which represents 22 plaintiffs who objected to the public display of the Ten Commandments - called the sale "a new tactic of the religious right.
"What the judge said was that our government body cannot sell a prime parcel of real estate in order to keep a religious monument on it that was never supposed to have been placed in a public position in the first place.
"The Ten Commandments don't belong in our public parks, and the city of La Crosse couldn't just sell off a little bite of that park in order to keep the monument in the exact same spot of prominence," Gaylor said.
Meanwhile, the ACLJ is seeking permission to represent the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which owns the land and the monument.
The court ignored a valid sale between the Eagles and the city and, in effect, ordered the city to "trespass upon the Eagles' property and steal their monument," Manion said.
"What's at stake in this case is not the Ten Commandments. We're talking about the Magna Carta. We're talking about the basic right under our legal system to own and enjoy our own property and not to have it taken away except by due process of law," Manion said.
The 17-member city council is meeting Wednesday to vote on whether to appeal the judge's ruling.
La Crosse Mayor John Medinger has said he would veto a vote to appeal, Gaylor said.
"We don't know whether there are the votes to override that veto, but the mayor has been very clear that he does not want to appeal, and many people in the city have begged the city not to appeal, not to waste more taxpayers' money on a losing battle," she said.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court in Chicago, which would hear a possible appeal, has ruled twice in the past two years that municipalities may not display the Ten Commandments in public places. Both of those cases were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which also let them stand.
Religious conservatives are planning to hold a rally Saturday on the steps of the Capitol Building in Montgomery, Ala., in support of a monument installed by Judge Roy Moore, which features, among other writings, the Ten Commandments.
Speakers include the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Alan Keyes and Howard Phillips.
See Earlier Stories:
Judge Gives Moore 15 Days to Remove Ten Commandments (Aug. 6, 2003)
US Supreme Court May Have to Decide Ten Commandments Case (Aug. 7, 2003)
E-mail a news tip to Lawrence Morahan.
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This ought to be enough. It has private ownership and sits on private property. End of story. I think even Lug would agree.
My prayers are with Judge Moore and those who will be at the rally.
Can you list what the "other writings" on the monument are?
Great word. Thx.
Frankly, I'm offended by your being offended because the monument speaks of the History of our Country and if that offends you, you're in the wrong country.
Are there two rallies/protests? I thought there was one scheduled for Thursday, but this says a rally will be held on Saturday.
There is one news conference: Thursday, August 14th, 1:30pm.
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The Declaration of Independence
The U.S. Constitution
The Alabama Constitution
and other historical documents.
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