Loss for ACLU: 10 Commandments marker in park OK, judge says

from JoeUser Forums
From BaltimoreSun.com, this news report on a decision in a 10 Commandments case. Could this case set the path for all 10 Commandments related cases, or is this simply a one time common sense decision?

Headline is linked.




Commandments marker in park OK, judge says


Associated Press
Originally published June 22, 2005

A privately owned Ten Commandments monument may remain on display in a Frederick city park, a federal judge ruled yesterday.
Judge William D. Quarles Jr. concluded that no reasonable observer would believe the 5-foot granite marker is meant as a government endorsement of religion.
Quarles also found that the city government's sale of the monument and an accompanying strip of parkland to the local Fraternal Order of Eagles chapter in 2002 was proper. Plaintiffs Roy J. Chambers and the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State had alleged the transaction was a sham designed to keep the monument on what appeared to be city land.
Frederick Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty said the ruling affirmed the city's decision to sell the monument to avoid a legal battle with the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU subsequently dropped a lawsuit challenging the display.
"We sold the land, and the Eagles could do with it what they will, and they have, and that's that," Dougherty said.
The American Center for Law and Justice, which supports public expressions of religion, called it "an important victory."
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, was dismayed. "I still believe that a passer-by would still think this is a government display of a religious monument and would not understand the long, tortured history of this lawsuit," he said.


... more at linked article


Again, is this the type of decision that helps set a common sense approach for future displays of the Commandments, or was this just a one time win in the battle over "Church vs. State"?

Comments most welcome.
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1,782 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
This just might cause a Cardiac Arrest among the ACLU!! Strange how a few words that basically tell us to "Be Excellent to Each Other" can scare people so much!! ;~D
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
What I never understood about the ten commandments issue is that it's part of the foudnation of the three major Religions of the world. This means that it is a core belief to the majority of religious people on this planet.

I think banning display in public places is stupid... but I think that if someone can toss up the Ten Commandments, then someone else should be able to go toss up a tract from their own religious book without being harassed. I think this would be a much more interesting test of tolerance that the right claims they have oodles of and that the left completely lacks.

Banning is stupid, it never works the way people want it to. Ban something and you lend credibility to whatever it represents, you strengthen it by showing you fear it. I think Athiests would be a hell of a lot more successful if they just sat down and shut up. Many are apathetic towards faith and religion but will go to defend it when some Athiest lunatic comes screaming from the shadows. If they wanted to effectively fight religion, to help it fade away, they'd just stay quiet and watch. Let apathy take its course.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
If it was the koran, there wouldn't be a problem here. The aclu wouldn't have touched it.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't think this is a victory over the ACLU as this was just a way for the city to get around the restriction. The ACLU dropped out of this one when the city sold the statue and land to the Eagles.

Perhaps more so, it is a lesson to learn for others in their efforts to get religious displays in their communities.