Seperate Church and State

In response to the Adams County Board of Supervisors decision not to honor our country’s  proud tradition of keeping the affairs of state separate from  those of religion, we are raising funds to purchase a banner (equal in size to the “In god we trust” sign) to be displayed in the center of the courthouse, with a similar message from our choice of any of the 450,000 churches in the US who are considered tax exempt by the IRS. Federal courts have routinely ruled that should governmental agencies allow religious images in public spaces, they must abide by the principle of equal access.

"For example, in Chabad of Southern Ohio & Congregation Lubavitch v. City of Cincinnati(2004), the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city of Cincinnati could not exclude a religious group from placing a Hanukkah menorah on the city’s main public square, an area that the court determined to be a public forum for private expression. The court thus concluded that the city had unconstitutionally attempted to exclude controversial displays, including those with religious content that might offend local citizens. The right of equal access to a public forum did not permit such an exclusion, the court ruled.

More recently, the widows of two American combat veterans brought suit against U.S. government officials for refusing to permit a Wiccan symbol (a fivepointed star surrounded by a circle) on headstones in military cemeteries. The government has a list of approved headstone emblems, which includes nearly 40 symbols of religious faith, but the list did not include the Wiccan symbol. In a lawsuit filed in a U.S. district court in Wisconsin, Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson, the widows argued that in this type of public space, the government may not favor some religious faiths over others. In April 2007, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs settled the suit by agreeing to allow the Wiccan symbol on grave markers.

If local governments do not want to be held responsible for the content of private displays on public property, they may forbid all such displays, whether religious or secular. For instance, in Wells v. City & County of Denver (2001), the 10th Circuit upheld the city of Denver’s decision to ban all unattended displays at the entrance to the City and County Building."

(Source: Pew Research Center, Religious Displays and the Courts, June 27, 2007)

We will keep this campaign open until a church or organization requests a banner be displayed in their name.

http://www.hastingstribune.com/news/supervisors-approve-in-god-we-trust-sign/article_87f35110-b0c4-11e8-9cb5-4f6a3b804eab.html