Thursday, June 29, 2006 10:57 a.m. EDT
ACLU: Kick Jesus Out of High School


Two civil liberties groups sued in federal court Wednesday to remove a picture of Jesus that has hung in a high school for more than 30 years.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union say the painting, "Head of Christ," sends the message that Bridgeport High School endorses Christianity as its official religion.

"I frankly cannot understand why this school insists that it is doing nothing wrong," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This is pretty clear constitutional law. Public schools cannot promote specific religious ideas."

A vote by the Harrison County, W.Va. school board on removing the painting ended in a tie this month.

"At this point, it's a matter that's pretty much going to be up to the board," Superintendent Carl Friebel Jr. said. "It's just going to be very interesting for me to see what the board wants us to do with it."

The suit was filed on behalf of Harold Sklar and Jacqueline McKenzie, whose children attended or will attend the school.

© 2006 Associated Press.

The ACLU is a group led by dimwitted, communists bastards.

Well that's interesting because these communists seem to have a pretty good sense of American Constitutional law. If one looks at the history of jurisprudence on the Establishment Clause, it is very obvious that this is in violation. Where is the hanging picture representing every other religion? Can either of you provide a logical reasoned argument that this picture does not or could not send the message of the school singling out support of one religion?

To those who support the picture of Christ, I suppose you would not mind if the school your child attended hung a picture of two men marrying each other in a church?

It is easy to support the hanging of a picture of Christ when you support the Christian religion. But imagine that we were talking about a religion you do not support, then imagine whether you would want to send your children to such a place.

It's called freedom. Try it some time. I should have the freedom to send my kid to school where I choose. Get the government and politics out of our schools.

People have freedoms, not the government. If an individual person in school wants to bring in Bibles and pictures of Jesus and distribute them, then spend time preaching about Jesus, well that's all fine with me.

But that is quite different from a school displaying is support for Christianity. A school is not a person, it is an insitution provided by the government and paid for by the tax dollars of everyone. A school does not have freedoms, and a public school should treat all religions equally.

Once again, a Christian group wants GOVERNMENTAL ENDORSEMENT of their religion...

WHY can't these people hang their pictures and put up their stone monuments JUST in their houses and NOT on governmental land?

What does it take to get that point across?

I find it funny that huge eye-sores like the ten commandment monument or the Soledad cross ARE NOT FOUND on Christian church land, but rather they want to put these HUGE permanent fixtures on GOVERNMENTAL land.

As I previously said, it's like dogs trying to mark what they want to pretend is their territory...

Wrong again. The group is not asking for government endorsement. Your comprehension problem is kicking in again I see. They are asking for FREEDOM to express their beliefs which are guaranteed in the constitution.

Your bias is loud and clear with statements calling the ten commandments and crosses "eye-sores". It doesn't matter if they are eye-sores to you. People have the consitutional right to express their beliefs. There is nothing in the first amendment about not displaying religious symbols on government land. Show me where it is.

I get a kick out of you accusing me of things that you are clearly guilty of.
These people HAVE freedom of religion.
Hanging a picture of Jesus in a GOVERNMENT school house is not a "freedom of religion". It's an act of governmental endorsement.
Whether or not you admit it is irrelevant. The act of governmental endorsement is why it is unconstitutional.

Whether or not you comprehend that is also irrelevant.


You really can't help but hear whatever you want to...
No matter what I ACTUALLY say and ACTUALLY mean, you'll interpret whatever is convenient for you.

The "ten commandments" and "cross" themselves ARE NOT eye-sores.
The ALABAMA ten commandments and the MOUNT SOLEDAD cross are eye-sores. Huge honking monuments which I challenge you to find ANY church that put them up on their own property.

If a Christian church doesn't even want these over-sized monstrosities on their property, WHY should we place it on governmental property?


Yes. People have a right to express their beliefs. But WHERE they express their beliefs is NOT guaranteed.
If I put a religious symbol on your garage, you could prosecute me for vandalism.
I don't see why we don't do the same thing for Christians who inappropriately place crap on governmental property when it's unconstitutional.

We've been over this before.
Establishment clause.
Separation of church and state.
At the end of the arguments, you ADMITTED separation of church and state was real.
Is there some reason that you don't remember that?

As I wrote above, people have freedoms. Schools are not people, they are government institutions. If a school puts a religious symbol on display, that respects the establishment of Christianity, and is a clear violation of the first amendment which says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

For a more in-depth discussion on the first amendment, I really recommend you read this:

http://defendingthetruth.com/showpos...4&postcount=18

This is one of my earlier posts, and I really feel it does a good job of explaining the first amendment.