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Appeals court rules against Utah memorial crosses
AP ^ | 8/18/2010

Posted on 08/18/2010 2:57:04 PM PDT by markomalley

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A federal appeals court says the 14 crosses erected along state highways to commemorate fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers are a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the memorials had the effect of conveying a state endorsement or preference of a certain religion.

The ruling reverses a 2007 judge's decision that the crosses communicate a secular message about deaths and were not an illegal public endorsement of religion.

(snip)

The 12-foot high white crosses were paid for with private funds.

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: cw2

1 posted on 08/18/2010 2:57:06 PM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

The state religion in Utah is not known for a fondness of the Christian cross...


2 posted on 08/18/2010 3:00:31 PM PDT by Tennessee Nana
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To: markomalley

The crosses will be replaced by islamic crescents, which are constitutionally protected symbols.


3 posted on 08/18/2010 3:00:31 PM PDT by Argus
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To: markomalley

Anti religious bigots on parade


4 posted on 08/18/2010 3:00:37 PM PDT by Charlespg
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To: markomalley

An easy solution is to back the crosses a few feet onto private property. It will be just a matter of time before the judges find this offensive, then it is all out war.


5 posted on 08/18/2010 3:06:59 PM PDT by pterional
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To: Charlespg
What BS. I suppose they will now start removing all the Crosses and Stars from the National Cemeteries? They represent the religion of the lost soul, not the religion of the state.
6 posted on 08/18/2010 3:08:44 PM PDT by Oldexpat
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To: markomalley
So do we have to take down the HUNDREDs of crosses along the New Mexico highways? We have them in memory of police officers, drug addicts, ordinary people, children, all kinds of them And many have crucifixes hanging on them, some have creches, some have Virgin of Guadalupe, all kinds of religious motifs. But we can put up a ten story monument to Islamic killers of 3,000 people.
7 posted on 08/18/2010 3:09:50 PM PDT by ProudFossil
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To: Tennessee Nana
Even atheists know very well that a cross is a traditional symbol to mark a grave. What's next, removing all the engraved crosses and Stars of David from the headstones at Arlington?


8 posted on 08/18/2010 3:10:28 PM PDT by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas (Lt. Col. Ralph Peters: Obama is the dog who caught the fire truck!)
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To: ProudFossil
Some states do remove the roadside memorial crosses when mowing the grass alongside the highways. I recall seeing a Highway Department equipment yard in Arkansas that had a huge pile of the things.

People tend to use inexpensive materials like PVC pipe, so they can simply replace the memorials again and again. A few go the opposite way - making the crosses out of rebar and welded diamond-plate so that they're too heavy to be moved. I saw one like that not long ago, with the name of the deceased and "Rest In Peace" written in weld bead. Pretty impressive, actually.

9 posted on 08/18/2010 3:15:48 PM PDT by Charles Martel ("Endeavor to persevere...")
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To: markomalley

thugs in black robes


10 posted on 08/18/2010 3:18:28 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: Oldexpat
I see a very violent backlash coming to the US over this kind of crap one day.

The progressives have used their trained monkeys in the courts to strip the majority of their rights,attack their religious rights,say that we must cater to every whim of the minority no matter how stupid or how it affects the majority,and use the courts to prevent the majority redress of grievance.and call us ignorant racists when we complain.

its the reason I am such a reactionary now

11 posted on 08/18/2010 3:20:17 PM PDT by Charlespg
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To: Tennessee Nana
The state religion in Utah is not known for a fondness of the Christian cross...

This is a Federal Appeals court ruling, not the state of Utah or Mormons. Why don't you research the religious affiliation of whoever made this ruling.

I don't know the religious makeup of the troopers that were killed, but I'd be willing to bet that at least one of them was Mormon. I don't recall any of the families or their church complaining about a cross being set up in their honor. Perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong there.

12 posted on 08/18/2010 3:20:47 PM PDT by ConfusedAndLovingIt
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To: markomalley
A three-judge panel from Denver's 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its 38-page ruling that a "reasonable observer" would conclude that the state and the Utah Highway Patrol were endorsing Christianity with the cross memorials.

There are no Federal judges that have a clue what "reasonable" is. They simply lack the common sense, regardless of what their IQ is.
13 posted on 08/18/2010 3:38:49 PM PDT by microgood
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To: markomalley

Silly Christians... tell the government next time they are putting up mini-minarets. These should be perfectly fine.


14 posted on 08/18/2010 3:40:40 PM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: Tennessee Nana
The state religion in Utah is not known for a fondness of the Christian cross...

It was a FEDERAL court, not a STATE court. Your predictable smear is irrelevant.

15 posted on 08/18/2010 3:45:15 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: markomalley

Idiocy..

Well Officers have to patrol those routes anyway.. When the Crosses come down put them back up. Let’s just see who get’s tired first..

W


16 posted on 08/18/2010 4:31:51 PM PDT by WLR (Remember 911 Remember 91 Iran delinda est.)
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To: markomalley

This is what happens when a nation puts its faith in law.


17 posted on 08/18/2010 5:39:43 PM PDT by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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To: LearsFool

Anyone see a double standard here??
But, it’s okay the liberals and liberal appointees to take the Christian rights away a little everyday and give the rights to the Muslims to put up yet another mosque (among 11 in a 5 sq. mile area), but won’t give permission for the Jews to re-build a Synagogue that was destroyed in 911 WTC bombing!

Christians and vets have been ordered to remove crosses from graves and those erected as monuments to vets, destroyed by vandals and now not allowed to be replaced. But, it’s okay for the liberals to fight for this mosque, which will be an offense to a majority of Americans. This should be a states right anyway to memorialize their State Highway Patrol Officers, killed while on duty!!
Come on State Sovereignty .....KICK IN!!! Keep the FEDS out of states business!!


18 posted on 08/18/2010 6:14:15 PM PDT by prayin4_swcb (....A nation divided against itself, cannot stand.)
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To: prayin4_swcb

Yes, of course there’s a double standard. And there ought to be a double standard every time there’s a shortcoming in the laws we write - a double standard which ought to serve the good, not the evil.

Trouble is, the good people get hit twice for every shortcoming in our laws - once when evil people take advantage of the shortcoming to do evil, and again when good people refuse to admit the shortcoming and change the law.

Just listen to many conservatives here on Free Republic. We talk as though the Constitution were written by the finger of God, that it’s flawless, that it will save us in spite of what sort of people get hold of it. We talk in glowing terms about “the rule of law” as we pile law upon law in an attempt to restrain one another from doing evil - and then complain about having too many laws!

The best argument I’ve heard against the Ground Zero Victory Mosque came from (of all people!) a Muslim who fled to America to escape persecution in Syria. He said something to this effect: “Just because they have the right to build it doesn’t make it right to build it.”

We cling to our rights and then feel free to ignore what’s right. That’s the trap to which republics are susceptible. Instead of bowing before the king, we bow before the law, and it becomes our dictator, our tyrant, our slavemaster. And whoever has the ear of our monarch will use that power for his own purposes, whether for good or evil. And we will submit, powerless.


19 posted on 08/18/2010 7:57:31 PM PDT by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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To: markomalley

Our rulers don’t like our religion, do they?

I think it’s time to overthrow our rulers.


20 posted on 08/19/2010 4:41:02 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain and proud of it. Those who truly support our troops pray for their victory!)
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