A Facebook page that a secular group had only recently pressured into removing Christian messages is now publishing such posts again, after having incorporated some minor changes. Freedom From Religion Foundation may have briefly succeeded in getting 911 Dispatch Jonesboro (Arkansas) to delete Christian messages from its Facebook page after filing an official complaint about how inappropriate it was for the page administrator to display his or her preference for Christianity over other religions but the page recently resumed posting such religious messages.
“The United States Supreme Court has ruled that government officials may not seek to advance or promote religion,” wrote FFRF staff attorney Patrick Elliot. “It is inappropriate for Dispatch Jonesboro to indicate a preference for Christianity and religion by quoting the Christian bible, posting prayers, and sharing postings asking people to pray on the official dispatcher Facebook page.”
Even though Jonesboro officials decided to remove some of the religious posts concerning God and the Bible upon receiving FFRF’s complaint, it soon realized that the Facebook page in question was not directly tied with the city’s administration. Therefore, they gave the page administrator permission to post such contentious messages all over again.
Fritz Gisler, director of Communications for the City of Jonesboro, explained to the media that the page in question now has a new name, Presley Dispatch, and it would continue to post religious content.
“At the time of the posts, the presentation of the page strongly implied that it was operated and directed by the City Administration. This implication was quite obvious considering the amount of feedback we received regarding the removal of the posts, most of which blamed the Mayor and the City Administration for the removal,” said Gisler. “The Mayor requested Mr. Presley to remove the posts before we determined the page did not, in fact, belong to the city. As a city employee, Mr. Presley complied with the Mayor's request. Subsequently, we determined the page belongs to Mr. Presley personally, and he is free to post on that page what he chooses.”
Harrold Perrin, mayor of Jonesboro, had earlier confirmed that all the contentious content on the page had been removed.
“At the time, I decided it was better to be cautious and remove the posts until we could look into this issue further,” stated Perrin. “When I took office I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land. I am committed to ensuring that the City of Jonesboro in all its operations obey the law.”
Photo Credits: Christian Post
