MAGNA
CARTA SATISFIES ACLU
Courthouse Adds to Religious Display
By Daniele Eubanks, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 22, 2000
A
decision by a North Carolina county courthouse to add copies of
the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta to its display
of the Ten Commandments has placated the local branch of the ACLU.
In
its most recent attempt to purge public buildings of religious
messages, the state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union
sued Wilkes County in April, demanding commissioners remove six
copies of the Ten Commandments posted around the courthouse.
The
organization claimed posting the documents was unconstitutional.
``They were injecting religion into government operations,'' said
Deborah Ross, executive and legal director of the state's branch.
But the addition of the historical writings has assuaged the ACLU.
``After seeing the display, we are amenable to trying to reach
some sort of compromise,'' Miss Ross said.
The
county followed a pattern first used when the ACLU objected to
the display of Nativity scenes on courthouse grounds.
In
1984, the Supreme Court ruled that the city of Pawtucket, R.I.,
did not violate the First Amendment by including a creche in a
winter holiday display. ``Total separation is not possible in
an absolute sense,'' the decision said. ``Some relationship between
government and religious organizations is inevitable.''
But
in 1989, when the ACLU filed suit against the county of Allegheny
in Pennsylvania, for displaying a Nativity scene with a banner
proclaiming ``Glory to God in the Highest,'' the Supreme Court
declared the display unconstitutional. It said the creche displayed
alone, without other, secular holiday decorations like reindeer
and snowmen, demonstrated government allegiance to a particular
sect or creed.
The
Supreme Court ruled against the county and explained that the
government's use of religious symbolism depends on context.
At
the end of last month, Wilkes County commissioners voted to remove
the plaques from the courthouse and replace them in just two places
with displays containing documents pertinent to U.S. history.
Janet
Parshall, chief spokesman of the Family Research Council, said
the Ten Commandments belong in the courthouse. ``The Ten Commandments
are the cornerstone of American law. Every day, people in courtrooms
must place their hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth,
so help them God.
''It is highly paradoxical that the ACLU is so threatened by the
principles that are the basis for our government.`
Copyright © 2000
News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The
Washington Times.
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