Atheists Protest Memorial Crosses

(Salt Lake City) American Atheists Inc. has filed suit in U.S. District Court to remove highway crosses placed to memorialize Utah Highway Patrol troopers who have died in the line of duty. The crosses stand about 12 feet high and display the trooper's name and the Utah Highway Patrol emblem. They are placed near the location where the troopers were slain.

Specifically targeted by the lawsuit are Col. Scott Duncan, superintendent of the UHP; John Njord, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation; D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, executive director of the Department of Administrative Services; and F. Keith Stepan, director of the Division of Facilities Construction and Management Department of Administrative Services.

The plaintiffs are Stephen Clark, Michael Rivers, Richard Andrews and American Atheists Inc.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Rivers said the purpose of the suit is to eliminate religious symbols used by government agencies and placed on government land. American Atheists claim to have a membership of 30 million people. They are not opposed to memorials, just the crosses.

"We feel the department of transportation, by allowing the Utah Highway Patrol Association to pick a religious symbol is unfair. We think it should be totally secular with no religious theme," Rivers said. "[The cross] is a Christian religious symbol. People will look at those and automatically assume that religion is a part of it."

Supporters of the memorials stated that the families of the fallen would be devastated and the legacies of the slain troopers would be tarnished if the crosses were removed. According to Sgt. Todd Royce, past president of the Utah Highway Patrol Association, the crosses are no different from those at other government memorial sites, such as Arlington National Cemetery.

American Atheists are asking for $1 in damages and removal of all crosses on government property. I believe a blind person can see what the atheists are aiming for. Logically, it's the removal of all crosses at veterans' cemeteries throughout the nation. American Atheists also wants the court to rule that it's unconstitutional to display the highway patrol insignia on a cross.