From: Cgastbook@aol.com Date: Fri, 31 Oct 1997 12:14:13 -0500 (EST) Subject: [Atheist] re: AANEWS for October 31, 1997 Sender: owner-aanews@listserv.atheists.org Reply-To: cg@atheists.org from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS subject: AANEWS for October 31, 1997 A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S ~~ A A N E W S ~~ #347 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~10/31/97 http://www.atheists.org ftp.atheists.org/pub/ http://www.AmericanAtheist.org In This Issue: * Atheists File Suit: Remove SF Cross! * Alabama Judges Strikes Prayer, Bible Recitation (Again!) * Provincetown Demo Update * TheistWatch: Christian "Horror Houses" For Halloween * Resources * About This List... Breaking news... ATHEISTS FILE SECOND MOTION TO STOP BOGUS SALE OF MT. DAVIDSON CROSS American Atheists is in federal court in San Francisco, today, filing a new lawsuit to enjoin the City and County of San Francisco from selling the 103-foot-high Mt. Davidson cross and surrounding plot of land to the Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California. This follows an action last month when the organization tried unsuccessfully to intervene in the original suit. Plaintiffs who had challenged the constitutionality of public ownership of the cross and land said they were "satisfied" that the sale of the religious monument and 0.38 acres of real estate on which it sits to the Armenian group met constitutional requirements. But Dave Kong, California State Director for American Atheists, charged that the bogus sale which took place at a little-publicized "auction" was simply a ruse to keep the religious icon standing in the middle of a public park. Under the proposed "sale" agreement, the Mt. Davidson real estate -- a mere 0.38 sliver of land -- would be "private" yet open to public access. One stipulation of the transfer was that if the cross were removed, the land would then revert back to City ownership. Mr. Kong described that and other sales requirements as "ludicrous." "Clearly, they're just trying to find a way to keep the Mt. Davidson cross in the middle of a huge public park," he said. In March of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the Mt. Davidson cross violated the No Preference Clause of the California State Constitution. The ruling also affected the Skinner's Butte cross, a 57-foot-high concrete and steel Christian monument which stood in a public park in Eugene, Oregon. There, public officials decided to comply with state- church separation, and had the cross dismantled. And two weeks ago, the fate of another cross -- this one the 37- foot high Kolekole Pass Cross at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii -- was decided. Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church challenged the constitutionality of the monument, and Army officials announced that they would dismantle the structure which had been built in 1962 with taxpayer funds. In San Francisco, though, public officials worked to find a loophole to keep the Mt. Davidson cross standing. The cross and 0.38- acres of land surrounding it was sold to the Armenian group for a mere $26,000; the transfer was then approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The sale was then placed on a city ballot for the November 4 election as Proposition F. When American Atheists tried to intervene, some of the original defendants who had challenged the cross instead came out in support of the transfer. An attorney for defendants had remarked that though they had gone to court to dispute ownership of the Mt. Davidson Christian cross, her clients "had great respect for religion and for religious symbols," adding that removal of the cross was not the goal of their action. The American Atheist motion to intervene was rejected in a court hearing on December 10. Mr. Kong, in a statement today to the media, said "The motion was denied because of technicalities, and the real issues were never addressed." American Atheists charged that the transfer was a ruse. Ellen Johnson, President of the organization, accused public officials and community groups of "trying to do by indirect means what they know they cannot do by direct means, namely, keep the Mt. Davidson cross standing." Today's action, filed on behalf of Mr. Kong and American Atheist member John Messina, asks for a preliminary injunction against the sale and transfer of the cross and land. It names as defendants the City and county of San Francisco; the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission; Joel Robinson, General Manager of the Recreation and Park Department; and the Armenian American Organizations of Northern California. "Ultimately, American Atheists seeks permanent injunctive relief against any sale for the sole purpose of maintaining the Mt. Davidson cross," notes a media release about today's action. ** Related Story... Another cross is being challenged in San Diego. There, the City filed a Notice of Appeal on October 18, 1997 in the Federal District Court. Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr. has ruled that the sale of the property with the Mt. Soledad Christian cross to a "Memorial Association" was not religiously neutral. In December of 1991, Thompson ruled that the cross was unconstitutional. ** DISTRICT JUDGE STRIKES DOWN PRAYER, BIBLE READING IN ALABAMA Score another victory for state-church separation, thanks to a federal judge's ruling yesterday which barred Alabama public schools from allowing prayer or organized Bible reading on school property. Judge Ira DeMent extended his previous orders striking down the state's 1993 school prayer law, and rejected arguments by Alabama Governor Fob James which claimed that individual states can establish their own laws on religious conduct free of interference from federal courts or even guidelines found in the U.S. Constitution. DeMent upheld a considerable body of legal decisions in his ruling, such as MURRAY v. CURLETT (which struck prayer and Bible recitation in public schools) and ENGEL v. VITALE (banned state-composed prayer in public school classrooms.) An attorney for the Alabama school boards told reporters that the ruling provides clear and concise guidelines which administrators and other public officials may follow in an area which had been "confusingly complex." Part of DeMent's ruling focused on the action of Madison County, Alabama officials who had permitted -- and some say even encouraged -- so-called "voluntary, student-led" prayer at graduation ceremonies. That policy ended last May, however, when county schools were told to end the prayer because of DeMent's earlier ruling against the 1993 law. But despite the order from both DeMent and county school officials, some students at Sparkman High School initiated a graduation prayer anyway. Separation, Free Speech Protected And Balanced Judge DeMent's ruling strikes a delicate balance between freedom of expression and the need to preserve state-church separation in the schools. One area clearly protected is voluntary student gatherings, such as the recent "See You At The Pole" events held every year by religious groups. 1995 guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Education affirmed the legality of that activity, so long as it remains voluntary and does not take place as part of official school business. The legality of SYATP has been affirmed by a spectrum of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Christian Legal Society. American Atheists, while supporting the right of students to participate in the "See You At The Pole" rallies, has cautioned school officials and teachers from endorsing the activity, and creating the appearance that participation is required or will "win points" for students. AA has also expressed concern that enthused "prayer warriors" organizing the Pole events must not be permitted to coerce or bully others into joining; and the organization has noted that atheists and others must have the right to peacefully observe or criticize the event, and organize their own activities on the campus as well. Judge DeMent did affirm the constitutionality of using religious texts in an academic context, and the display of religious symbols or clothing which had religious messages. And while it bans orchestrated prayer an commencement gatherings, his order allows students to individually "give thanks" to the deity of their choice. The ruling prohibits any devotional messages or scripture readings over school public address systems; it does permit "non curricular religious clubs," however, to announce their meetings or related activities. In The Midst Of "Alabama Prayer Wars" DeMent's ruling comes at a time when prayer and religious display is a hot issue throughout Alabama. Etowah County Judge Roy Moore has attracted national attention for defiance of court orders telling him to "cease and desist" from opening judicial proceedings with a Baptist invocation, and to remove a hand-carved plaque of the Ten Commandments from the wall of his courtroom. And Alabama Governor Fob James has expressed belligerent support for Moore and public religiosity, threatening to call out the national guard, state police, and the University of Alabama football squad if necessary to resist any "federal" order banning prayer and Ten Commandments display in public buildings. Yesterday's order is clear. Donald Sweeney, attorney for the Alabama school boards, told the Huntsville (Ala.) Times that before the latest ruling, "some schools were following the law in good faith; others were not." He added, No longer will well-intending persons, political or otherwise, be able to argue to our principals or educators that 'the law is not clear,' or the law doesn't apply in your city or county so do what you want and what we want you to do. You won't get in trouble...'" The Times noted that, "DeMent's ruling raised the threat of contempt proceedings against any state or public school officials who violates his order..." ** RALLY SLATED FOR TOMORROW IN PROVINCETOWN, MASS. Plans are moving forward for Saturday's American Atheists protest rally in Provincetown, Mass. against Rev. Fred Phelps and his "God Hates Fags" church ministry which targets homosexuals. Phelps is in the small community at the tip of Cape Cod to protest school courses in tolerance and diversity. He and his Kansas-based church have made national headlines by picketing gay rights marches and other events, and branding homosexuals as "sodomites" and "sinner." Gil Lawrence, New England Director for American Atheists, is urging members, supporters, and other atheist-freethought groups to protest Phelps and gather at 8:00 a.m. -- 8:30 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, November 1 in Provincetown. Please note that the time for the AA demo has been moved forward in an effort to keep up with the timetable of Phelps and his church ministry. Meet behind the Town Hall-Chamber of Commerce Building located at the corner of Bradford and Ryder streets. Those attending are urged to read carefully the "Rules of the Road" and other talking points for this demonstration which are now posted on the American Atheists website. Check out: http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/index.html. Those attending or seeking additional information can also reach Mr. Lawrence through glawrence@atheists.org. ** THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a 16-year old atheist student at Coconut Creek High school has filed suit against a teacher charging that he was the target of ostracism and humiliation when he refused to recite portions of the Junior ROTC creed which made references to a god. The student -- identified only as Richard Roe -- would not recite the end of the Reserve Officers Training Corps oath which ends with the phrase: "May God grant me the strength to live by this creed." According to attorney Steven Wisotcky, law professor at Nova Southeastern University, the paramilitary instructor -- Sgt. Randolph Smith -- "raised his voice while stating that (the) Plaintiff would receive an F for each day that he refused to recite the creed." "Roe" was then "stripped of his rank as a master sergeant," notes the lawsuit. Documents also charged that Sgt. Smith "frequently isolated (the) plaintiff for negative treatment, including lowered grades, and made the plaintiff feel unwelcome and an outcast." ** It took Hawaii atheist Mitch Kahle and his Citizens for Separation of State and Church about forty-five days from when they filed suit to remove the Kolekole cross, to receive word from the U.S. Army that the giant Christian monument was coming down. Not bad -- and we certainly don't want to ignore or depreciate the work Mitch and others did in the case. But did he have a little not-so-divine help? Mt. Kahle informs us that the 1995 Edition of the "State of Hawaii Data Book" shows the Aloha state to be the most un-Christian in the nation. There are only 87,579 members of Judeo-Christian churches and other groups tabulated, with only 390,827 describing themselves as "adherents." The way we read it, that suggests that only about 20% of JudeoChristians bother tromping to church or temple. That comes to only 35.3% of the state's population. Check out this good news at http://www.hawaii.gov.8080/databook/db1995a/01039.95. ** With tonight being Halloween, dare we mention that we have received the usual reports about what can only be described as "Christian Horror Houses" popping up across the nation. Seems that this harvest festival has become both a commercial extravaganza, and an opportunity for Christian fundamentalist churches to try and literally scare the hell out of youngsters (and adults) by setting up bogus "haunted houses" and other seasonal events which supposedly transmit a distinctly religious message. These "Christian Horror Houses" have scenes, for instance, which depict murder, drunk-driving deaths, and even the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. One organizer told the Los Angeles Times, "We want to show real life, modern-day tragedies... we didn't want to have a Dracula, zombies or goblins because they aren't real." Supposedly, the objective of these displays is to scare and shock people into turning their lives over to Jesus. One of the more controversial Christian horror shows this year is being put on by the Abundant Life Christian Center in Denver -- we might add that "Abundant Life" is part of the network of extreme charismatic sects behind the giant Promise Keepers movement. It's Halloween production, dubbed "Hell House," features a date rape as part of its show. It's the third year for the Abundant Life "Hell House," which has attracted more than 14,000 people to its productions. Rev. Keenan Roberts told reporters that while the date rape scene wouldn't be visually explicit, "you will know what is happening. He is demanding sex, the girl is screaming at him to stop, and he overpowers her verbally, physically and spiritually." AANEWS correspondent Larry Mundinger has tracked this story. He said, "This is incredible! If a high school sex education class showed a video of this they (religionists) would be storming the school board." Agreed. And we can't imagine anything this disturbing for youngsters at Disneyland, another target of religious right wrath. The double standard lives, even with a Halloween mask! ** RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS * For information about American Atheists, send mail to info@atheists.org. Please include your name and postal mailing address. * For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and other products, send mail to catalogue@atheists.org. Kindly include your mailing address. * The American Atheist Magazine is now on the web! Check out select articles from the current and back issues. Visit us at http://www.AmericanAtheist.org. * If you are a member of American Atheists, why not sign up for our e-mail discussion group, aachat? We already have over 100 participants who discuss topics such as atheism, religion, First Amendment issues, and plenty of other issues. Contact Margie Wait, the Moderator through aachat@atheists.org. ** About This List... AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of atheism, and the total, absolute separation of government and religion. For subscribe/unsubscribe information, send mail to aanews- request@listserv.atheists.org and put "info aanews" (minus the quotation marks, please) in the message body. You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch, provided that appropriate credit is given to aanews and American Atheists. Edited and written by C. Goeringer, The LISTMASTER (cg@atheists.org). Internet Representative for American Atheists is Margie Wait, irep@atheists.org.