Ind. church appeals cross ban
Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorneys represent congregation that participated in Evansville riverfront exhibit
Wednesday, Aug 28, 2013
Attorney sound bite: Bryan Beauman
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorneys representing an Evansville area church filed an appeal Wednesday in an ACLU lawsuit over the display of up to 31 temporary crosses at the Evansville riverfront. Last month, a federal district court issued an injunction saying that the crosses cannot be displayed in the same manner as other community group displays.
“Government officials should not be allowed to unconstitutionally single out faith-based groups for censorship,” said Bryan Beauman, one of nearly 2,300 allied attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom. “A public display, approved in the same way as other types of displays, cannot be singled out for censorship simply because it is in the shape of a cross.”
In June, the Evansville Board of Public Works approved a request by West Side Christian Church for it and up to 30 other participating churches to display painted and decorated crosses along the city’s popular riverfront for two weeks in August in an event known as “Cross the River.” Each participating church was scheduled to paint and decorate a cross and display it during the event in an effort to raise money for local charities.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Vanderburgh County residents after the city approved the churches’ permit to display the crosses. In July, Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorneys filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the churches, which the court granted with respect to one of the churches.
“This misinterpretation of the First Amendment should not be allowed to uproot the fundamental freedoms that the Constitution guarantees to all Americans,” added Chris Wischer of the Evansville, Indiana law firm Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald and Hahn, LLP, who serves as co-counsel for the churches along with Beauman, who is with Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC, of Lexington, Ky.
Michael J. Cork, also of Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald and Hahn, LLP, also serves as co-counsel for the churches in the case, Cabral v. City of Evansville, which will now go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
“Government officials should not be allowed to unconstitutionally single out faith-based groups for censorship,” said Bryan Beauman, one of nearly 2,300 allied attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom. “A public display, approved in the same way as other types of displays, cannot be singled out for censorship simply because it is in the shape of a cross.”
In June, the Evansville Board of Public Works approved a request by West Side Christian Church for it and up to 30 other participating churches to display painted and decorated crosses along the city’s popular riverfront for two weeks in August in an event known as “Cross the River.” Each participating church was scheduled to paint and decorate a cross and display it during the event in an effort to raise money for local charities.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Vanderburgh County residents after the city approved the churches’ permit to display the crosses. In July, Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorneys filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the churches, which the court granted with respect to one of the churches.
“This misinterpretation of the First Amendment should not be allowed to uproot the fundamental freedoms that the Constitution guarantees to all Americans,” added Chris Wischer of the Evansville, Indiana law firm Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald and Hahn, LLP, who serves as co-counsel for the churches along with Beauman, who is with Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC, of Lexington, Ky.
Michael J. Cork, also of Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald and Hahn, LLP, also serves as co-counsel for the churches in the case, Cabral v. City of Evansville, which will now go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
- Pronunciation guide: Beauman (BOH’-min)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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