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Humanists sue: Church Polling Places are Unconstitutional
(Washington, DC, November 29, 2006) The American Humanist Association (AHA) today launched the first nontheistic legal center in the nation's capital, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), by filing what is expected to become a controversial church-state separation case.

The litigation emerged as a result of practices during the recent midterm elections as monitored by thousands of AHA members nationwide. Churches are the most common polling locations in America. Some churches cover their religious symbols at this time out of respect for the principle of government neutrality on religion. But not all do so. Humanists decided it was time to learn to what extent religious proselytizing took place at the polls. "We put out a call to our members whose polling places were churches, asking them to report what they saw," said AHA President Mel Lipman. "The response was shocking."

"An Illinois member voted in a church that displayed a four-foot wooden crucifix right above the election judges," said AHLC attorney James Hurley. "Another member in California was confronted with a large marble plaque dedicated to the 'unborn children' who are 'killed' by abortion and containing a quote from the Bible justifying the notion that the soul is alive in the womb. And a New York member voted in a room featuring large religious slogans on the wall behind the voting machines."

Hurley, along with attorney Barry Silver of Boca Raton, Florida, is taking one of the most egregious and well-documented cases, that of plaintiff Jerry Rabinowitz who was assigned to vote at Emmanuel Catholic Church in Delray Beach, Florida. The case, Rabinowitz v. Anderson, alleges that, to enter the polling place, Rabinowitz was forced to walk past a church-sponsored "pro-life" banner framed by multiple giant crosses before even entering the church to cast his vote. Then, in the voting area itself, he observed many religious symbols in plain view, both surrounding the election judges and in direct line above the voting machines. He took photographs that will be entered in evidence.
Warning! The following image may not be suitable for all nontheistic viewers. Some of the content may shock you. Atheist viewers are encouraged to continue only at their own discretion.
See: PHOTOS
I admit. I looked. I'm scarred for life.
The Appignani Humanist Legal Center consists of over two dozen humanist lawyers from around the country, backed by thousands of humanists from coast to coast, who seek to have humanist values represented in the legal arena. This launch is in direct response to recent influence exerted by the religious right under the Bush administration to damage Jefferson's wall of church-state separation.
And just who’s to blame for this centuries old travesty?
Wait for it...
"George W. Bush
The Devil incarnate! Shaytan himself, borne up from the Bowels of Hell to torment the...humanists
has been busy appointing conservative Christian judges who don't support the separation of church and state," said AHA Executive Director Roy Speckhardt. "And year after year we're seeing government intruding further and further into the religious sphere."

"The Appignani Humanist Legal Center will work to make sure that the First Amendment to our Constitution is honored," Lipman added. "More than that, though, the Center will pick cases that highlight our cause to the broader public. By working on these and drawing attention to injustices, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center will educate Americans on the importance of religious liberty and the plight of humanists in the United States."
Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-11-30
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=173561