Posted: 4/2/2009 4:01:19 AM EDT
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http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=132174
Groups protest cross on tower above Reading City does not respond to letters; ACLU asks that lawsuit be filed By Don Spatz Reading Eagle Reading, PA - The Easter cross on the city-owned William Penn Memorial Fire Tower lit up on schedule this year, despite threats of a suit by the American Civil Liberties Union and another group. The ACLU's Philadelphia office and the Washington, D.C.-based Appignani Humanist Legal Center each sent two letters to Mayor Tom McMahon demanding that the cross stay dark and be removed. Because the city hasn't responded, Humanist Center attorney Robert V. Ritter said Wednesday that the ACLU has hired a Philadelphia attorney to file a federal suit to force the removal. The cross was lit Feb. 26 and will stay on through Easter, McMahon said. He said he will not change what the city has done for decades because of threats and letters. Instead, he said, the city has been seeking advice from outside law firms.He said some court rulings have upheld the ACLU's position but others have not. Although Reading can't afford to spend a lot on legal fees, several law firms around the country might defend the city in court at no cost if it decides to keep the cross, McMahon said. The ACLU and the Humanist Center said that a Reading resident objected to the cross and demanded the city not display it. Ritter said that person would be named in the suit. Ritter said in February that the courts have prohibited cross displays on government property because they amount to government endorsement of a particular religion. The first cross was erected at the tower by a church in 1959. It was replaced in the 1990s by a city-made light grid that forms a cross at Easter and a star at Christmas. Contact Don Spatz: 610-371-5027 or [email protected]. |
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Honestly, aren't there bigger problems these days?
I'm an atheist, and I don't like the idea of any governmental body being at all involved in anything religious. But seriously, it's been there for many years, and the only thing the city is doing is turning on the electricity. How is that hurting anyone? |
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Quoted:
Honestly, aren't there bigger problems these days? I'm an atheist, and I don't like the idea of any governmental body being at all involved in anything religious. But seriously, it's been there for many years, and the only thing the city is doing is turning on the electricity. How is that hurting anyone? But technically they are correct that city money and property should not be used to promote ONE particular religion. If some muslims went to the city and demanded that the city spend money putting up some Ramadan display, do you really think the city would do it? How about if some Buddhists demanded the city spend money on a Buddhist display, or some Scientologists wanted a disaply of Xenu on tax day or something? Personally, it doesn't bother me, but the ACLU will probably win this if it goes to court. |