A Stitch in Haste

Standing athwart the First Amendment, yelling what?

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city of Slidell [Louisiana] on Tuesday for displaying a painting of Jesus in a courthouse lobby, saying it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

The ACLU sued after the Slidell City Court refused to voluntarily remove the picture and a message below it that reads: "To Know Peace, Obey These Laws." The ACLU says the portrait -- an image of Jesus presenting the New Testament -- is a religious icon of the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity.
...
On Saturday, [City Judge James] Lamz said the picture would stay up unless a federal judge ordered it removed.

I'll give Lamz credit for this much: at least he's being a bona fide Jesus Freak rather than engaging in the typical, and cowardly, tactic of sneaking religion into a courthouse via a Decalogue (even though only four of the Ten Commandments actually concerns secular law). I've noted previously the bizarre fact that radical Christian theocrats seem to obsess with the Decalogue rather than the Golden Rule.

The city, meanwhile, of course has no leg to stand on. The twin cases of McCreary County v. ACLU, 545 U.S. 844 (2005) and Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005) set the goalposts through which such wink-wink theocracy maneuvers must be kicked. A single religious icon, whether purportedly "law related" or not, cannot be displayed in a courthouse (or any other public building). Such items can only be included as part of a broad-based, otherwise permissible secular display. So unless the City of Slidell wants to invest in a new, secular art collection to surround it, the Jesus painting must go. It's a slam dunk -- and a judge should know that.

Of course, Judge Lamz almost certainly does know that. He just doesn't care. God be praised!

(Cross-linked to Blog Against Theocracy.)