Good for her! Stand Up for your rights! You shouldn't be forced to see others belief in a Fairytale! The appeal will just waste more Tax payers money. Period!
I wonder how these people would feel if it were a Muslim Mural?
Rhode Island Teen's Battle Against Prayer Banner Has Gone 'Too Far,' Mayor Says
(▪‿▪)DoctorWhoGuru(▪‿▪)
2012/01/18 20:21:54
A controversy initiated by a teenage girl over a prayer banner in a Rhode Island public school has gone "too far" according to the town's mayor.
The teen, who is 16 and says she's an atheist, has received threats and the city is paying hefty amounts of money in legal fees.
A Rhode Island judge ruled last week that a prayer mural at Cranston High School West needs to be removed "immediately," but members of the community are fighting back by pursuing an appeal that would cost the city more money in a legal battle that has already racked up tens of thousands of dollars in fees.
"I think it's gone too far," Cranston Mayor Allan Fung told ABCNews.com. "Our country was built upon civil discourse, not hate for one person exercising their constitutional rights."
Fung said, however, that if it were up to him, "I would say, respect the judge's decision and not take the appeal because, unfortunately, we could not afford these costs in these tight budgetary times."
The teenager at the center of the controversy is junior Jessica Ahlquist, who has thousands of supporters on a number of Facebook pages, Twitter and her own website.
"I would definitely say that being an atheist is a big part of my identity, mostly because I'm an activist," Ahlquist said in a YouTube video that answered questions from supporters. "I wouldn't say that I go shoving atheism down anyone else's throat. I just feel passionate about activism and specifically activism for atheism."
The battle began in July 2010 when Ahlquist informed her local ACLU chapter of the mural addressed to "Our Heavenly Father" that is displayed in the auditorium of her school. Ahlquist said in her ACLU suit that the banner made her feel "ostracized and out of place."
The mural has been in the school since 1963 and a school committee said it was "historical" and "artistic."
The matter went before U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux who decided on Jan. 12 that, "No amount of debate can make the School Prayer anything other than a prayer." He ordered that it be taken down, but the mural is currently still up but covered with a tarp.
On Tuesday night, nearly 300 members of the school community attended a school committee meeting and the majority of those in attendance were calling for an appeal to the decision so that the banner could stay up. Some carried signs that said, "Appeal or we'll vote them out," according to ABC News' Providence affiliate WLNE.
No decision on whether or not to appeal was reached at the meeting as the item was not on the pre-determined agenda.
Ahlquist was at the meeting and said she would "definitely" do what she did again, even if she has been getting frightening threats.
"A lot of people are saying that they hope I get beat up," she told WLNE. "They they would hurt me physically in school if they could. It is hurtful. It kind of disturbed me. It's mostly hurtful when it comes from students in the school."
A few extra police officers were on-hand in case anything was to get out-of-control, but nothing happened. The school board said it is not ready to make a decision yet on whether to appeal the decision.
Judge Rules Against Prayer Banner In School
http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/judge-rules-against-pra...
Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/US/rhode-island-teens-battle...
Top Opinion
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antiteaparty 2012/01/18 20:28:40
Someone's a special snowflake
The mural has been there since before she was born, she needs to shut up. I can't stand atheists who, for whatever reason, think it's their moral duty to spread atheism, that makes you a missionary.
I salute her!
American religious freedom . . . isn't it the BEST?
People do remember that there is a thing called separation of Church and State right? I don't send my children to school to have religion crammed down their throats (in my county they even off a thing called bible bus where they take the kids off school campus to a church parking lot for two hours to have them read from the bible)
The Constitution prohibits establishment of a state-sanctioned religion, it does NOT prohibit religious observance in government buildings.
This little girl is free to express her opinion, but she is still wrong.
You'd be all up in arms if she were wanting to inscribe a pentagram on the floor of the gym.
Do not assume.
Do you?
Would you allow a midget named Lorenzo to kick you in the nads while singing the Spanish national anthem in Portuguese?
Giovanni, perhaps.
I can READ. I read the frigging Constitution.
My comprehension is apparently a little better than yours.
Or do you belong to the Pelosi school that feels we should learn what's in the law after it's enacted?
edit: adding the following
Full Disclosure: I did block Abubincrazy, and perhaps it is unfair for me to take a shot at him while leaving him no way to respond.
However, I know my criteria for blocking someone, and though I don't remember the specific incident that led to his being blocked; for it to have happened, he must have been extremely abusive. Anything short of that, doesn't get a block from me.