After a long standing federal lawsuit challenging a 6-foot Ten Commandments monument in front of a Pennsylvania public high school, the school district reached a settlement with Marie Schaub and her daughter with the help of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They agreed to relocate the granite monument and also they have to pay $164,000 in legal fees.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), after Marie Schaub and her daughter asked them for help, filed suit in September 2012. First, FFRF wrote to the District in March of 2012 requesting the monument be moved because it violated federal and Supreme Court precedent prohibiting the display of the Decalogue in public schools. District officials defended the monument and refused to move it. Then the lawsuit came. On August 9, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that Schaub did have legal standing to challenge the monument.
The Ten Commandments monument sat on the Valley High School grounds for several decades beginning in 1957. Commenting on the legal victory, Schaub, who received FFRF’s Atheist in a Foxhole Courage Award at its annual convention last fall in Pittsburgh, said: “It’s unfortunate that many people in my community don’t understand or appreciate the separation of church and state, but I hope this settlement serves as an important lesson. I’d like to thank the FFRF for all of their help and everyone who has supported our cause.”
“I hope this settlement serves as a lesson and a reminder that the separation of state and church is especially important when it comes to our kids in public schools. The removal of this religious monument will provide a more welcoming environment that will promote equality and neutrality,” she added.
However, many local conservative Christians are not happy that the monument is being forced to relocate, and Schaub family has been harassed and has even faced death threats for simply doing the right thing and standing up for the U.S. Constitution.
Some hateful messages included: You should be dragged in the street and shot. And: Leave the country.
The attacks became so frequent and egregious the local newspaper literally had to ask its readers to stop being a lynch mob. “Now, now, folks. Let’s keep it clean and refrain from personal attacks,” the Valley News Dispatch commented.
Photo Credits: Christian Today
