'Don't Take Them Down': Residents Protest after Atheist Activists Demand Removal of Beloved, Decades-Old Cross Display

Billy Hallowell : Mar 22, 2022
Faithwire.com

"There is no indication the Lynn Mountain cross display runs afoul of the Constitution. The display's reported history and tradition alone make that clear." -First Liberty wrote to Elizabethton officials

[Faithwire.com] Dozens of residents of Elizabethton, Tennessee, are protesting after atheist activists demanded the removal of three crosses from purportedly public lands. (Screengrab image)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) wants officials to remove the decades-old crosses atop Lynn Mountain. The atheist group claims the religious symbols' presence on city-owned land constitutes a violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, WJHL-TV reported.

"They are crosses up there by themselves," FFRF legal fellow Karen Heineman told the outlet. "They seem to have a pretty obviously Christian message."

She continued, "They have no other obvious meaning or other messages with them, and it sends, I think, a pretty obvious message of endorsement of Christianity."

Others, though, disagree. First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit conservative legal firm, has offered pro bono representation to the city and has purported no constitutional violation is in play.

"There is no indication the Lynn Mountain cross display runs afoul of the Constitution," First Liberty wrote to Elizabethton officials. "The display's reported history and tradition alone make that clear"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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