Judge Roy Moore and Foundation for Moral Law File Brief in Federal Appeals Court Defending 3 Crosses in Las Cruces, New Mexico City Symbol
April 17, 2007
Judge Roy Moore and the Foundation for Moral Law filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit yesterday arguing that the words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution do not require the City of Las Cruces, NM, to remove 3 crosses that have been a part of its city symbol for over 50 years. (Click here to read the brief.) This is the official City of Las Cruces symbol, featured on documents, police cars, and other official City property:
Several residents of Las Cruces were offended by the crosses in the City's symbol and filed suit to have them declared unconstitutional. Fortunately, the trial court ruled that Las Cruces, whose name means “The Crosses,” could keep the symbol, a reflection of the City's name and history. But the plaintiffs have appealed to try to get the decision overturned.
Judge Moore stated, “Arguments in federal courts about what the First Amendment supposedly prohibits are getting more and more absurd. We trust that the brief filed by the Foundation for Moral Law will convince the Tenth Circuit that a city whose name means ‘The Crosses' may keep its official city symbol. Do we really want to start forcing places with religious names—like Corpus Christi, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco —to censor their names to appease a few offended people?”
Judge Moore and the Foundation's brief highlights a few concerns with the district court's decision, a correct result based on some faulty reasoning. First, the brief argues that by using “judicial tests” instead of the text of the First Amendment, the court continues to confuse this already confusing area of law. Sticking to the plain words of the law is both an obligation of the judicial oath of office and the proper way to determine whether the Las Cruces symbol violates the Constitution.
Second, the brief argues that by focusing on the lack of a “religious purpose” in the adoption of the 3-crosses symbol, the court sends a message of hostility toward religion and will encourage other government officials to run from religion as a legal liability in public life.
Third, when the words of the law in this case, the First Amendment, are applied to the Las Cruces symbol, it becomes plain that the symbol is not an unconstitutional “law respecting an establishment of religion.”
The Foundation encourages the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the trial court's conclusion on the solid foundation of the First Amendment's text, and help stop the trend of removing religious symbols and acknowledgments throughout this country.
The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through two methods: litigation relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases; and education consisting of forums for the public and pastors' seminars.
For more information about the Foundation for Moral Law and a link to the brief, please visit www.morallaw.org.
