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Here we go again....
Link
Lawsuit seeks to remove crosses from cityâ??s logo
By Steve Ramirez
Sep 23, 2005, 12:01 am
A federal lawsuit seeking to stop the city of Las Cruces from using three crosses in its emblem has been filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
City officials said they will fight to keep the emblem.
The lawsuit was filed late Friday by Paul Weinbaum, on behalf of his daughter, Olivia, and Martin J. Boyd.
According to court documents, Weinbaumâ??s address is just southeast of the Las Cruces city limits, but Boyd lives within the city.
The lawsuit claims the cityâ??s use of the emblem violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by placing religious symbols on public property and by expending public funds to promote religion.
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, and that the city has invaded the privacy of Weinbaumâ??s and Boydâ??s homes with government-sponsored proselytizing.
The lawsuit does not seek any monetary damages from the city. Weinbaum said he just wants the city to quit using the symbol.
â??The point here is that this is not for profit whatsoever,â? Weinbaum said of the lawsuit. â??We want our First Amendment rights back, our full rights as citizens.â?
The lawsuit claims the city has violated the First Amendment by forcing the Weinbaums and Boyd to view the â??pervasive religious symbols endorsed by the city of Las Cruces and the state of New Mexico,â? and that the Weinbaums and Boyd have been made to feel excluded from public participation in government activities.
The plaintiffs also asked for a temporary injunction against the city.
â??The city of Las Cruces, New Mexico uses its â??logo,â?? a Latin crosses symbol, consisting of three Latin crosses enclosed in a sunburst, that is closely associated with the Christian religion,â? says a portion of the motion for temporary injunction. â??Latin crosses in any configuration are recognized throughout the world as Christian symbols.
â??This symbol serves no governmental purpose other than to be divisive, to alienate, and disenfranchise Weinbaum, his minor daughter and Boyd.â?
The motion for temporary injunction also claims the Las Cruces City Council has never voted on adopting the symbol for official use.
Also, city officials cannot provide any historical documentation to substantiate its claim that the Latin crosses represent the history and people of the city.
Weinbaum said there is no attempt to have the city change its name.
â??There is not one place in that lawsuit that says the name of the city should be changed,â? Weinbaum said. â??There have been other stories in the past that claimed that. But that is not correct, never has been correct, and is not correct now.â?
Named as defendants are Las Cruces Mayor William â??Billâ? Mattiace, and City Councilors Dolores Archuleta, Dolores Connor, Jose Frietze, Ken Miyagishima, Wesley Strain and Steve Trowbridge.
Other defendants include City Manager Terrence Moore, Assistant City Manager Maryann Ustick, Public Information Director Udell Vigil, and Facilities Department Director Brian Denmark.
District Attorney Susana Martinez, Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Gov. Bill Richardson have also been named as defendants.
Mattiace said the city intends to fight the lawsuit.
â??We have had to defend ourselves before and weâ??re ready to do it again,â? Mattiace said. â??The crosses have a basis for being in our logo. We will hold course and will defend that.â?
City Attorney Fermin Rubio said the lawsuit doesnâ??t raise any new issues from attempts made in 2003 to get the city to stop using the logo. Then, the New Mexico Department of Transportation was going to remove two city logos at the Spruce Street underpass and on north Main Street, at the Interstate 25 interchange.
But Richardson issued an executive order to keep the department from removing those logos.
Richardson spokesman Jon Goldstein said Tuesday the governorâ??s office had received a copy of the lawsuit. But no additional comment on it would be made until staff members and lawyers for the governor have had an opportunity to review it.
The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Lourdes Martinez of Las Cruces.
No future court hearings have been scheduled yet. Lawyers for the defendants will have 20 days to submit a formal response to the allegations before a hearing is set.
Logo in question: 
This lawsuit pops up all the time. Last time it was tried, the ACLU even refused to take up the fight, acknowledging that the crosses reflect a local legend and aren't an attempt to force any religious beliefs. I guess every [censored] gets his 15 minutes.
Last edited by PackRat; 09/24/05 11:10 PM.
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As many of you may know, the U.S. Constitution Amendment 1 of the bill of rights says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The U.S. Constitution doesn't say anything about the local states or governments doing so. That's my $.02 worth and YMMV.
Gary
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This is a democracy, that means people can b!tch about whatever they want, time to move on packrat
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I think the major thing is that they aren't asking "Las Cruces" to change their name, but they are all in to it about the logo.
Where's the line?
Not being adament (sp?) about their beliefs acros the board makes it seem like an "attention grabber" instead of a plight for the fair or legal actions of the city.
They are grabbing at straws, and showing it by not attempting all avenues.
Ray
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Originally posted by Kremitthefrog:
I like to wear dresses and use binoculars to watch grandmas across the street.
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The United States is not a democracy, it is a Republic. Big difference is that in deocracy everybody makes the rules whereas in a Republic, we have elected officials that make the rules for us. We do have free speech, but there also is freedom of religion not freedom from religion and not freedom from being offended. If I sued everytime my feelings were hurt or I was offended, I would be in court all of the time.
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Originally posted by Ray:
I think the major thing is that they aren't asking "Las Cruces" to change their name, but they are all in to it about the logo.
Where's the line?
Not being adament (sp?) about their beliefs acros the board makes it seem like an "attention grabber" instead of a plight for the fair or legal actions of the city.
They are grabbing at straws, and showing it by not attempting all avenues.
Ray
Weinbaum is the founder of the local chapter of Americans for the Separation of Church and State, which is basically comprised of him and a couple of others. This only popped up because of what happened with the pledge of allegiance. He's been behind every attempt at changing the logo. The only difference is his original partner is no longer a party in this current lawsuit.
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Originally posted by 1HotSVT:
The United States is not a democracy, it is a Republic. Big difference is that in deocracy everybody makes the rules whereas in a Republic, we have elected officials that make the rules for us. We do have free speech, but there also is freedom of religion not freedom from religion and not freedom from being offended. If I sued everytime my feelings were hurt or I was offended, I would be in court all of the time.
Yeah and i've also heard of it reffered to as a social democracy, want a cookie? I really wanst trying to get technical, rather very general.
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Originally posted by ResidentAdvisor:
This is a democracy, that means people can b!tch about whatever they want, time to move on packrat
It's one thing to [censored], it's another to file a lawsuit that my city has to waste money on fighting everytime Weinbahm and his cronies get a burr in their ass.
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Originally posted by PackRat:
Originally posted by ResidentAdvisor:
This is a democracy, that means people can b!tch about whatever they want, time to move on packrat
It's one thing to [censored], it's another to file a lawsuit that my city has to waste money on fighting everytime Weinbahm and his cronies get a burr in their ass.
Exactly...
These people who get their feathers ruffled at the slightest thing, like crosses in a logo that have been there for years, need to get a life. I don't get my panties in a bunch every time I see things I don't agree with. Welcome to America folks. As I've said before, if you want everything to your liking, go buy an island, move there, and take NOBODY with you!!!
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Originally posted by PackRat:
Originally posted by ResidentAdvisor:
This is a democracy, that means people can b!tch about whatever they want, time to move on packrat
It's one thing to [censored], it's another to file a lawsuit that my city has to waste money on fighting everytime Weinbahm and his cronies get a burr in their ass.
Yeah, I do agree, throwing around lawsuits like that is not the most productive thing ever, but they are just fighting (too) hard for what they believe in, and that i can somewhat justify. Do I agree totally with them taking up a lawsuit over that? No. Do I agree with them fighting for what they believe in, sure.
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