This information comes from an article in The Loft and was distributed on the web by GOPUSA:
Atheists Force Woman to Remove Cross Honoring Dead Son
There
has been so much news lately of schools, organizations, and individuals
being harassed by atheist groups, but this one sets a new low. In this
case, a grieving mother erected a roadside cross where her son was
killed, and now an atheist group has forced her to take it down. What
is wrong with these people???
As reported by The Press Enterprise, a roadside cross was erected for 19-year-old Anthony Vincent Devaney who in May 2012 was killed crossing a street.
A complaint prompted the American Humanist Association
in Washington, D.C., to intervene, contending the placement of the
symbol in the city right-of-way violated the separation of church and
state.
The association’s demand letter dated March 4 came a week after a
U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the group’s legal challenge
to Lake Elsinore’s proposed veterans memorial. That monument would have
depicted a soldier kneeling in front of crosses and Stars of David.
Representatives of the association said they were prepared to
challenge the city again if it didn’t ensure the Devaneys’ cross came
down. The organization, which represents atheists and other nonreligious
individuals, released a statement Thursday expressing gratitude the
cross was being removed.
This is absolutely outrageous! We see these types of crosses all the
time. It is a small remembrance of a loved one and a constant reminder
that life is precious. What is the problem here?
As NBC 4 in Southern California reports, the mother, Ann Marie Devaney, feels like she is “losing her son again.”
Devaney’s removal of her cross did not go unnoticed, however. As Fox News reports, when Devaney took down her cross, more appeared.
grieving California mom who, under pressure from an
atheist group, went to the site where her son was killed to remove a
memorial cross was met at the scene by a throng of supporters who
planted crosses of their own.“They said they have to take that one down,” Doug Johnson, a
Riverside resident who traveled to the site with his daughter and six
home-made crosses, told The Riverside Press-Enterprise. “But they didn’t
say anything about putting another one up.”
What’s even more frustrating is all of this was spurred on by the
complaint of ONE resident. That’s when the atheist group pounced. What
happened to the rights of the majority? We see it all the time…
schools banning Christmas so as not to offend one person. Instead, they
offend MOST of the people!
A thousand crosses should appear at that intersection. And as they
are taken down, even more should appear. This country has completely
lost its common sense, and it will continue to do so until people fight
back.
NOTE: As New Mexico citizens know, it has long been a custom to erect crosses in public rights-of-way in New Mexico. Las Cruces’s city symbol is three christian crosses. Their use on Las Cruces’s municipal public property has thus far been upheld when challenged by individuals and/or groups, but the school district in Las Cruces has ran into problems defending its use of the same symbols. Here’s a link to a list-serv paper on a 2006 court decision:
Crosses decision does not render finality
Here is a web site which deals with crosses and other memorial symbols erected along public streets and highways:
Crosses and Other Symbols On Public Rights-of-Way
Here is the law on descansos in New Mexico
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