SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) - A conservative advocacy group says it will represent the city of Sandpoint for free in a potential lawsuit over a Ten Commandments monument in a public park.
The Bonner County Daily Bee reports (https://bit.ly/1hImw7x) that Hiram Sasser of the Plano, Texas-based Liberty Institute made the offer at a public hearing concerning the monument on Wednesday.
“We’re pretty much the leading experts in the country on these types of cases,” said Sasser, managing director of strategic litigation.
City officials have said they’re investigating alternative locations for the monument in Farmin Park after receiving a letter in November from the Freedom From Religion Foundation asking the monument be removed.
“The best approach is to remedy the liability by moving the monument now,” the group said in the letter.
City Attorney Scot Campbell has said the monument’s location opens the city to potential litigation. The Fraternal Order of Eagles gave the monument to the city in 1972.
About 100 people attended the meeting, with many commenting that they want the monument to remain where it is. City officials didn’t make a decision at the meeting.
Sasser said the city could win in a legal battle because the monument has a 40-year history without significant controversy. He also said Fraternal Order of Eagles made the donation for secular purposes, not religious purposes. He added that the monument when combined with other commemorative items in the park adds historic context.
“I think the city has taken all the right steps toward handling this issue,” Sasser told the newspaper after the meeting. “It appears to me they want to make sure they’re following the law and conducting a thorough investigation.”
Of the dozens of people who spoke at the city meeting, most said they don’t want the monument moved, including Bonner County Commissioner Glen Bailey.
“I think it’s a historical document as well as a religious document, and I support it being there on a historic basis,” he said.
Celeste Lawrence said the monument should be moved.
“If everyone is to enjoy the park equally, it should be neutral and free of religious monuments,” she said.
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Information from: Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee, https://www.bonnercountydailybee.com
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