Lawsuit remove crosses from Las Cruces logo

[Be still]

Not only is Newdow suing to take "In God We Trust" off of our money, now this. <br>
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Lawsuit seeks removal of crosses from Las Cruces city logo <br>
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By ASSOCIATED PRESS <br>
September 24, 2005 <br>
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The city of Las Cruces' official emblem has three crosses that a federal lawsuit alleges are unconstitutional religious symbols on public property.<br>
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The lawsuit, filed Sept. 16 in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, seeks the removal of the crosses.<br>
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"The crosses serve no governmental purpose other than to disenfranchise and discredit non-Christian citizens," said the lawsuit filed by Paul F. Weinbaum, who lives in the Las Cruces area, and Martin J. Boyd of Las Cruces.<br>
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Defendants include city officials, city councilors, Mayor Bill Mattiace, District Attorney Susana Martinez, state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Gov. Bill Richardson.<br>
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"We have had to defend ourselves before and we're ready to do it again," Mattiace said.<br>
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"The crosses have a basis for being in our logo. We will hold course and will defend that," he said.<br>
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Las Cruces is Spanish for "The Crosses."<br>
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Fermin Rubio, city attorney, said the lawsuit did not raise any new issues since attempts were made in 2003 to prevent the city from using the logo.<br>
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The state Highway and Transportation Department, now the Department of Transportation, had announced that the logos would be removed from two state highway underpasses.<br>
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But Richardson ordered the agency not to remove the logo from state roads, saying it represents a historical event and is a point of pride for Las Cruces residents.<br>
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Jon Goldstein, a spokesman for Richardson, said Tuesday the governor's office had received a copy of the lawsuit, but he declined comment until staff members and attorneys for the governor reviewed it.<br>
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The lawsuit alleges the emblem violates the First Amendment by placing religious symbols on public property and spending public money to promote religion.<br>
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The lawsuit also accuses the city of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring prospective employees to sign job applications that include a religious symbol.<br>
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Weinbaum and Boyd accuse the city of invading the privacy of their homes with government-sponsored proselytizing.<br>
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Weinbaum and Boyd said they have been made to feel excluded from public participation in government activities.<br>
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"This symbol serves no governmental purpose other than to be divisive, to alienate, and disenfranchise Weinbaum, his minor daughter and Boyd," the lawsuit says.<br>
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Weinbaum said he just wants the city to quit using the logo.<br>
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"The point here is that this is not for profit whatsoever," he said of the lawsuit. "We want our First Amendment rights back, our full rights as citizens."<br>
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The City Council never has voted on adopting the symbol for official use, the lawsuit says.<br>
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City officials cannot provide any historical documentation to back its claim that the crosses represent the history and people of the city, the lawsuit alleges.<br>
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The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Lourdes Martinez of Las Cruces. No court hearings have been scheduled.<br>
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<p>Karen<br>
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<!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:red;">"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10<br>
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“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--></p><i></i>