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ACLU, city wage battle over seal
MARC LEFKOWITZ
Cleveland Jewish News
CLEVELAND - The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the City of Stow have written their final arguments in the contentious case of whether a Latin cross and Bible depicted in one quadrant of the city's official seal violates the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The ACLU sued the city last year after it refused to remove the Christian symbols from its seal, which was created in 1966 and is displayed on city vehicles, buildings and official stationery. The plaintiff and defendant, respectively, filed motions for summary judgment in the case being presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Sam Bell. Bell had earlier requested the parties try to reach a settlement.
The ACLU cites three similar Circuit Court cases in which government seals depicting a Latin cross were found to be an endorsement of religion. The ACLU also disputes Stow's claim that the cross and Bible are "indirect, remote and incidental."
"Instead, a reasonable observer, knowing that the city has specifically adopted this seal as representative of Stow's official beliefs, would conclude that the city intends to endorse and advance religion, in conjunction with home, school, and industry."
The City of Stow counters in its documents that "the presence of a stylized Latin cross ... serves a legitimate secular purpose of depicting the historical fact that religion was part of the historical background of the residents."
The city also attempts to argue that the Latin cross cited in the case by the ACLU, "is more obviously a Christian symbol than the cross in the Stow seal" because it "looks like a wooden cross with nail holes in it."
The ACLU has affidavits from five anonymous residents claiming to have "come into unwelcome contact with the city seal." The City of Stow has one anonymous resident testifying on its behalf.
Identifying herself as a Christian realtor, Jane Doe No. 2 testified that she has "seen the controversy over the seal ... bring to the surface anti-Semitic and other anti-religious sentiments."
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