Free Republic

DENVER -- Voters in Estes Park, Colo., removed town trustee David Habecker from office Tuesday in a recall election that hinged on his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at town meetings. Mr. Habecker, who lost by a vote of 903-605, said he is considering whether to pursue further legal action to overturn the recall outcome, arguing that the voters had infringed upon his First Amendment rights. A 12-year trustee and self-described agnostic, Mr. Habecker refused to stand for the Pledge because he objects to the words "under God," which he described as unconstitutional and "un-American." "It was a...

Estes Park - Voters on Tuesday night recalled a town trustee over his refusal to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings. The vote to boot David Habecker, 59, off the town board was 903-605. Voters also chose 60-year- old businessman Richard Homeier to replace him. The recall election garnered state and national attention. Habecker, an agnostic, claimed saying the phrase "under God" in the Pledge violated the separation of church and state. Habecker, a hotel owner, said the vote was upsetting. "All the things I was taught as a child about this country, including religious tolerance,...

ESTES PARK - Estes Park residents voted Tuesday to recall a town trustee who refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before board meetings. The final vote was 903 to 605 in favor of recalling David Habecker. The turnout was much higher than for a typical municipal election. Some voters, like Trudy Hewitt, said they though Habecker was being unpatriotic. "When you sit down during the Pledge of Allegiance, which is to our flag, which is about patriotism, which is about our country, you dishonor everybody that has fought and sacrificed for our country," she said. "I think his constitutional...

DENVER (AP) - A judge ruled Wednesday that a town can hold a recall election to decide whether to oust a trustee for remaining seated during Pledge of Allegiance at Town Board meetings. U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham ruled that citizens have a right to disagree with Estes Park Trustee David Habecker and that recall organizers did nothing wrong when they gathered more than 200 signatures supporting the effort. The judge withdrew a temporary injunction that had blocked a recall election that had been scheduled for Feb. 15. The injunction was issued after the trustee filed a lawsuit to stop...

Those poor pagans. Studying the magical arts and worshiping the divinity of nature are no easy tasks. Not when helpless trees are being ripped from Mother Earth by jovial Christians celebrating their little winter solstice get-togethers. But there is hope. To all my Wiccan, neopagan and belligerently atheist friends, you now have a new hero fighting the theocratic forces of tyranny: Estes Park Town Trustee David Habecker. It's true that his courageous stand - or rather, courageous sit - protesting the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance before each meeting of the town board would be a lot...

Voters in this woodsy mountain village will decide soon whether to recall a member of the town's Board of Trustees who refuses to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. David Habecker, a two-term member of the board, faces a Feb. 15 recall vote after drawing the community's ire for refusing to stand because he objects to the phrase "under God." He said the wording violates Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." "This makes the Pledge a religious...

WASHINGTON - Justices once again are considering a case involving the Pledge of Allegiance. Justices were asked this year whether the pledge and its reference to God belong in public schools. They got rid of the red-hot case without ruling on that issue. Now, a Colorado man wants the court to decide if the oath belongs in courthouses. Frank Herbert Wonschik was convicted of possessing parts for a machine gun in 2002 by a jury that recited the pledge after hearing a patriotic speech from the judge. His federal public defender, Jill Wichlens, said in court papers that judges hearing...

ESTES PARK - The mountain town of Estes Park is wrestling with some momentous issues these days; issues like freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the U.S. Constitution. It all came to a head when Town Trustee David Habecker refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at last week's board meeting. Habecker says the "under God" clause clashes with the constitutional separation of church and state. "I firmly believe it is a violation of the Constitution and felt it was my duty to make that position known," says Habecker. But Town Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark says Habecker should have made...

A recall election is now set for an Estes Park, Colo., trustee who refuses to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Town Board meetings. "I have not been standing for the Pledge of Allegiance due to a conflict I have with the wording of the pledge, specifically the words 'under God,'" Councilman David Habecker said. Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand. The board began reciting the pledge before meetings earlier this year at the suggestion of Trustee Lori Jeffrey-Clark....

DENVER -- A recall election is now set for an Estes Park, Colo., trustee who refuses to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the Town Board meetings.I have not been standing for the Pledge of Allegiance due to a conflict I have with the wording of the pledge, specifically the words 'under God,'" Councilman David Habecker said. Habecker said it's a violation of church and state to include the words in the pledge and for that reason, he won't stand.The board began reciting the pledge before meetings earlier this year at the suggestion of Trustee Lori...

DENVER (AP) - An official in a small tourist town sued his colleagues Friday, saying they're unfairly targeting him for recall over his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at board meetings. Estes Park town trustee David Habecker, who describes himself as agnostic, says the words "under God" in the pledge violate his religious beliefs and are at odds with the separation of church and state, according to his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver. The lawsuit says Habecker exercises his First Amendment right to religious freedom and sits during Town Board meetings while other members recite...

In Estes Park, there's discomfort on all political sides that the flap over a town trustee's refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is redefining the community. "Estes Park is becoming known as a town that wants to recall someone instead of as a tourist attraction," said Linda Wagner, a 12-year resident.