Federal Court Rules Crosses Placed Alongside Utah Highways to Honor Fallen Patrolman is Unconstitutional…
Score one for the Godless left…
Score one for the Godless left…
(Fox)- The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that 14 crosses placed along Utah highways to honor fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers violate the U.S. Constitution.
“We hold that these memorials have the impermissible effect of conveying to the reasonable observer the message that the State prefers or otherwise endorses a certain religion,” the Denver-based court said.
Based on that determination, the 10th Circuit did not rule whether the crosses also violate the Utah Constitution, which was one of the arguments made by American Atheists Inc.
The Texas-based organization and three of its Utah members sued in 2005 to have the crosses removed from state property. The plaintiffs argue that the 12-foot-high crosses are religious symbols that violate the Establishment Clause of the federal constitution by endorsing Christianity.
U.S. District Judge David Sam in Salt Lake City rejected that argument in 2007, saying the context of the crosses was secular in nature and that they were symbols of sacrifice. Wednesday’s ruling reverses Sam’s decision.