Religion sues Utah town to display "7 Aphorisms" near 10 Commandments

[Modem Butterfly]

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=15635

SALT LAKE CITY — The Summum religion has sued the city of Pleasant Grove for the right to display the other set of laws they say Moses brought down the mountain.

The city has refused to allow the Salt Lake City-based religion to erect a monument enumerating the Seven Aphorisms, principles they say underlie creation and nature, with a public memorial that includes the Ten Commandments.

Summum leaders believe these were initially passed only to a select few who could understand them, but that Moses also delivered a lower set of laws, the Ten Commandments, which were more widely distributed.

SNIP

The lawsuit alleges the city's denial counters previous rulings handed down in 1997 and 2002, when the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver agreed that Salt Lake County and Ogden City had created a forum for free expression by allowing the erection of a Ten Commandments monument on government property. Both cities eventually removed those monuments in response to the decision, leaving Summum with no public displays.

"The rights of plaintiff Summum are violated when the defendants give preference and endorsement to one particular set of religious beliefs by allowing the Ten Commandments monument to remain in a public park or in a forum within the public park supported by taxpayers and disallow a similar display of the religious tenets of Summum," the lawsuit says.

[BrainRants]

1. Slippery slope time!

I think the SCOTUS decision opened the gates for these types of lawsuits.

I hope other religions follow suit to really piss off the fundies.

[Redleg]

5. You're right and I am laughing my ass off!

When they try to teach "intelligent design" I will insist that other cultures' creation myths are included.

I also laugh that this stuff is going on in Utah. I grew up as Catholic in Ogden Utah and got pretty damned sick of Mormon students shoving their religion down my throat at the public school.

[Beetwasher]

2. I Want My Pentagram There Too!

Right next to my upside down cross and sacrificial altar stained w/ chicken(?) blood.

[noonwitch]

4. The three-fold law would be appropriate

Or "An it harm none, do as thou wilt".

[leesa]

3. Excellent!! This is exactly what needs to happen. Every religion

should sue for equal time/space. That will end this nonsense of relisgious stuff on public property.

[omshanti]

6. We must demand that they display the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

http://www.venganza.org