On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:41:31 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-B38447.00413104112006@news.giganews.com>

Atheist fights City Hall and wins.


---
Atheist doesn't have to display Burbank car sticker
(http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/121162,1NWS8-02.article)

November 2, 2006

By Stephanie Gehring Staff writer

A Burbank college student and atheist has won the right to remove the
city's vehicle sticker from her car pending a judge's approval of an
out-of-court agreement.

Nichole Schultz, who was raised Catholic, sued Burbank in October
because the city's vehicle sticker includes a cross.

The sticker depicts a soldier with his rifle kneeling at a cross.

The agreement ends a six-month dispute between Schultz and the city.

Atheist advocate Robert Sherman, who assisted Schultz, said the college
student wanted the city to provide her with some kind of alternative.
She should be allowed to remove the cross from the sticker, use a
different sticker or use no sticker at all, he suggested.

"The obligation is to pay the city vehicle tax -- not to display
Christian imagery from your car," Sherman said.

Under the agreement, Schultz can drive her car without a vehicle sticker
until next year when the new stickers are printed. If she receives a
ticket for driving without a sticker, the city will not make Schultz pay
a fine.

Both Burbank Mayor Harry Klein and attorney Joe Cainkar were out of town
and unavailable for comment.

In the spring, Klein called Schultz's concerns "ludicrous." He said the
cross stood for the graves of fallen soldiers, not Christianity.

"If the mayor sincerely believed it was a generic grave marker, the
courts have ruled for legal purposes that the ... cross is the
unmistakable symbol of Christianity," Sherman said.

Burbank Ald. Dan Foy said he knew the city was trying to work out an
agreement with Schultz.

He said the sticker was not intended to offend anyone.

"To her it's offensive. We don't see it that way," Foy said. "To be
honest, this is the first time we've ever had a complaint."

Schultz did not return a phone call seeking comment, but Sherman said he
presented the agreement to her Monday.

U.S. District Judge Mark Filip is expected to review the agreement Nov.
16.

Sherman said he considers Burbank's vehicle sticker nothing more than an
effort to force Christianity on its residents.

"The secular excuse involved the community claiming that they were
merely trying to honor veterans," Sherman said. "The way they chose to
honor veterans was to put on their vehicle sticker a war memorial and a
Christian cross as the focus of the scene."

The tide is turning.
Harris and Dawkins have enabled atheists to sit at the front of the
bus.

On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:41:31 -0800, johac <jhachmann@sbcglobal.com>
wrote:
- Refer: <jhachmann-B38447.00413104112006@news.giganews.com>

Atheist fights City Hall and wins.


---
Atheist doesn't have to display Burbank car sticker
(http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/121162,1NWS8-02.article)

November 2, 2006

By Stephanie Gehring Staff writer

A Burbank college student and atheist has won the right to remove the
city's vehicle sticker from her car pending a judge's approval of an
out-of-court agreement.

Nichole Schultz, who was raised Catholic, sued Burbank in October
because the city's vehicle sticker includes a cross.

The sticker depicts a soldier with his rifle kneeling at a cross.

The agreement ends a six-month dispute between Schultz and the city.

Atheist advocate Robert Sherman, who assisted Schultz, said the college
student wanted the city to provide her with some kind of alternative.
She should be allowed to remove the cross from the sticker, use a
different sticker or use no sticker at all, he suggested.

"The obligation is to pay the city vehicle tax -- not to display
Christian imagery from your car," Sherman said.

Under the agreement, Schultz can drive her car without a vehicle

until next year when the new stickers are printed. If she receives a
ticket for driving without a sticker, the city will not make Schultz

a fine.

Both Burbank Mayor Harry Klein and attorney Joe Cainkar were out of

and unavailable for comment.

In the spring, Klein called Schultz's concerns "ludicrous." He said the
cross stood for the graves of fallen soldiers, not Christianity.

"If the mayor sincerely believed it was a generic grave marker, the
courts have ruled for legal purposes that the ... cross is the
unmistakable symbol of Christianity," Sherman said.

Burbank Ald. Dan Foy said he knew the city was trying to work out an
agreement with Schultz.

He said the sticker was not intended to offend anyone.

"To her it's offensive. We don't see it that way," Foy said. "To be
honest, this is the first time we've ever had a complaint."

Schultz did not return a phone call seeking comment, but Sherman said

presented the agreement to her Monday.

U.S. District Judge Mark Filip is expected to review the agreement Nov.
16.

Sherman said he considers Burbank's vehicle sticker nothing more than

effort to force Christianity on its residents.

"The secular excuse involved the community claiming that they were
merely trying to honor veterans," Sherman said. "The way they chose to
honor veterans was to put on their vehicle sticker a war memorial and a
Christian cross as the focus of the scene."

The tide is turning.
Harris and Dawkins have enabled atheists to sit at the front of the
bus.