Looks like the the thought police lose another one. Score one for the First Amendment.
Judge: Tiles to Stay in Columbine
By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) - Columbine High School officials violated the First Amendment when they removed several ceramic tiles painted in memory of two victims of the 1999 shootings, a judge ruled Monday.
The tiles, some of which depict crosses and the date of the attack, must be restored to the school, U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel ruled. He said the tiles were part of the healing process after the April 20, 1999, shootings that left 15 dead, including the two teen-age gunmen.
The 4-inch ceramic tiles were painted in a project to renovate the school. The school district said counselors had warned the art should not be a memorial to the victims, and banned religious symbols, the date of the attack, and victims' names, though some people painted them anyway.
``I was invited to paint tiles for the reason that my son was killed in the school,'' Sue Petrone, mother of slain student Daniel Rohrbough, said after the ruling. ``It was very important to create a memorial to my son.''
Relatives and a friend of Rohrbough and another slain student, Kelly Fleming, filed the suit, saying the school district's ban violated free speech and showed hostility toward religion. They were represented by the Virginia-based Rutherford Institute, a conservative group that defends claims of religious discrimination.
The Jefferson County School District has not yet decided whether to appeal, spokeswoman Marilyn Saltzer said. |
