A small religious group called Summum has sued Pleasant Grove City, Utah for the right to display their “Seven Aphorisms of Summum” in a city park. A Ten Commandments display was donated and has been displayed in the city’s Pioneer Park since 1971.
Summum’s position is that once a city accepts donations for a public park display, it must accept others as well. Veterans groups fear that if this position is accepted, a display of a memorial honoring veterans would also welcome a display dishonoring veterans. A federal appeals court ruled that the city violated First Amendment rights by allowing some private donations in its public park and denying others. The Court will have to decide whether a donated monument in a public park amounts to governmental speech or private speech. The government is permitted to limit its own speech as long as it doesn’t restrict private speech. Another issue to be decided is whether a city park is a “public forum,” where free speech is entitled to maximum First Amendment protection.
Source: http://www.breakinglegalnews.com/entry/High-court-hears-dispute-over-religious-monument
Tags: pleasant grove, public park, summum
