Display Ban Best for All
Posted 03-11-1997
Recently the Board of Commissioners passed a resolution banning unattended temporary
displays in the small public area in front of the courthouse. I was the driving force
behind that effort and I would like to discuss the issue in this month's article.
Last December Westmoreland County was
visited by members of the Klu Klux Klan from Jefferson County who were requesting a permit
to display a cross with the Klan logo on it at Christmas time. They wanted to honor
members of their organization. While all three Commissioners disapproved of the Klan's
message, we had already granted permission to a local group of clergymen who were to
display a nativity scene. We had our solicitor do legal research and it was determined
that no court would uphold us arbitrarily banning the Klan while allowing a nativity
display. We did have a policy that required a request to be made thirty days in advance
and their request was made in mid-December. So we rejected their Christmas request and the
Klan vowed to come back for Easter.
As time moved closer to Easter, I had
several discussions with our solicitor as to what action we could take that would put the
county on firmer legal ground to deny the Klan the opportunity to display their message of
hate. The solution was to effectively ban all unattended temporary displays. Did that mean
we would have to sacrifice the nativity scene? Yes. But in all reality, the federal courts
would have looked quite negatively on our religious displays on government property. Does
it also ban some other temporary displays such as the ice sculptures? Yes. But it also
puts us on much firmer legal ground if challenged by the Klan. We can legally restrict
unattended displays, but we must do it uniformly and cannot selectively choose displays
based on the content of the message.
Our action in no way eliminates the
public's opportunity for free speech in front of the courthouse; however, it must take the
form of live protests or gatherings. It also doesn't eliminate the opportunity for
permanent displays. We currently have a clock installed by a civic group and some pillars
that make up a modern art display. The commissioners are also considering a request for a
permanent monument honoring fallen law enforcement officers.
Some people may think our action is too
restrictive because we eliminated Christmas displays. However I'm confident that the
members of the clergy that have previously requested access for the nativity scene
disapprove as strongly as we do of the Klan's anti-Christian message. They contacted us as
soon as they had heard of the Klan's request and were concerned that their action may
contribute to allowing the Klan access. I hope all citizens appreciate the other
opportunities to display nativity scenes on Main Street in Greensburg.
Litigation is a regular occurrence for
county government and can quite often be costly for the taxpayers. While certainly not
eliminating the potential for future litigation on this issue, I am confident we acted in
the best interest of the citizens of our county and strengthened our legal position on
this issue. |
