tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post6257662181122193712..comments2024-03-28T00:46:19.476-04:00Comments on Religion & American Law: Does a Sheriff's Ad in a Local Paper Violate the Establishment Clause?Brantley Gasawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894338478934982958noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-27721885498584017152011-11-30T14:17:09.631-05:002011-11-30T14:17:09.631-05:00I believe the Sheriff has every right to speak his...I believe the Sheriff has every right to speak his beliefs in this public forum, especially considering he is personally funding his message. Contrary to what people have been saying, I see no violation of the Establishment clause in this issue as I do not see entanglement between government and religion. I view the stamp as a declaration of this man's occupation rather than a message of endorsement. If government had the true motive to endorse this message, they would have paid for it, in which case this would have constituted a violation of the establishment clause.BryceShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978573437545812091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-74646093830123635352011-11-30T11:05:03.269-05:002011-11-30T11:05:03.269-05:00I agree with Marissa on this case. The sheriff ha...I agree with Marissa on this case. The sheriff has every right to publish and pay for an ad in the paper but the sheriff badge should definitely not be included. In fact, I feel that even the sheriff's name should not be included in the ad just to avoid any suspicion that the police department is fostering a specific religious view. If the badge is included in the ad then it is a clear violation of the establishment clause.TNTbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06432017765870803002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-74373422163074127112011-11-30T08:45:30.244-05:002011-11-30T08:45:30.244-05:00I agree with Marissa. The sheriff is allowed to v...I agree with Marissa. The sheriff is allowed to voice his own opinion and take out ads in papers. However, adding the seal of the sheriff’s office to those ads could easily be viewed as a government endorsement of religion. As long as the seal is taken off of the ads the sheriff can continue to place the ads in the paper, therefore exercising his freedom of religion.Sam Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06217797714577570155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-81357146313161801462011-11-30T04:06:08.270-05:002011-11-30T04:06:08.270-05:00I similarly agree with Marissa. The sheriff has ev...I similarly agree with Marissa. The sheriff has every right to express his views with private funds, however to a reasonable observer the badge and seal can be seen as a state endorsement of a particular religion. I think that Chris's analogy of "God Bless America" and "One Nation Under God" is irrelevant because those are cases of civil religion and at least attempt to be inclusive, whereas the sheriff's ad was clearly proselytizing.Callie Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01362166860206275075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-54898271136719607142011-11-29T23:11:29.081-05:002011-11-29T23:11:29.081-05:00I think there is no question that as long as the s...I think there is no question that as long as the sheriff's seal is removed, the advertisement is acceptable to put in a local newspaper. The fact that the sheriff paid for the ad with his own money does not give him permission to associate the sheriff's seal with any sort of religious message. There would be an excessive entanglement between government and religion if the seal were allowed to be kept in the advertisement.Andrew Lichtenauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00147859664062704362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-6129717016056588132011-11-29T20:18:50.602-05:002011-11-29T20:18:50.602-05:00Without the seal I would agree with Marissa and Ha...Without the seal I would agree with Marissa and Harry (it would be okay to run these advertisements..as it is an exercise of free speech). However, with the seal his comments may be interpreted as government supported. The Establishment Clause was enacted to separate church and state, therefore the seal should be removed.Justin Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331477213444620432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-85089266524389884722011-11-29T20:17:26.493-05:002011-11-29T20:17:26.493-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Justin Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331477213444620432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-25453931866408512162011-11-29T12:14:51.457-05:002011-11-29T12:14:51.457-05:00Whether the seal is included or not, this is not a...Whether the seal is included or not, this is not an establishment of a federal religion. As long as the President of the United States is permitted to say "God Bless America" and the Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase "One Nation, Under God" and legislative sessions are opened in prayer, then a sheriff is certainly allowed to reference God in a newspaper article even if he is representing a branch of government.Chris R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12449807666808370246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-1457599207417930652011-11-28T12:42:06.441-05:002011-11-28T12:42:06.441-05:00I believe Marissa is correct. The seal is being sh...I believe Marissa is correct. The seal is being shown as represented by the government, showing an establishment of religion. Even so, the sheriff should be able to post an ad in the paper, otherwise it would be in violation of his freedom of speech.Elena Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388732034156504903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-21662020148245708362011-11-28T11:33:02.659-05:002011-11-28T11:33:02.659-05:00I agree with Marissa regarding this issue. The sh...I agree with Marissa regarding this issue. The sheriff's seal should be removed as it is the seal of a branch of the government. However, the sheriff has every right to run these advertisements without the seal. These advertisements represent his freedom of religious speech. Additionally, any citizen can take out an ad in the paper, and the sheriff should not be restricted just because of his office.Harry R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14904234636407712910noreply@blogger.com