| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Will Harrell" |
| Date: |
14 Jan 2005 06:24:32 PM |
| Object: |
ACLU Files Suit to Protect Biblical Artwork |
DALLAS-The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas today announced that
it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Pilot Point and its police
department, charging that police officers violated an art gallery
owner's freedom of expression by coercing him to remove a mural
depicting the biblical story of Eve.
"It is unconstitutional for government officials to censor a work of art
because it might offend a small group of people," said ACLU of Texas
Executive Director Will Harrell. "It is also a misuse of resources to
have our law enforcement officials act as art critics."
Dwight Wesley Miller drew the attention of local police after displaying
a mural depicting the creation of Eve on an exterior wall of his art
gallery in the northern Texas town of Pilot Point. The mural borrows
heavily from Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" fresco in the Sistine
Chapel, and in particular from a portion of the fresco that depicts God
reaching out to touch Adam. At the far end of the mural sits a classical
female nude, in a pose that is a variation of Adam in the Michelangelo
creation scene. God's finger points at an apple, a traditional image of
the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, suspended between God and
Eve.
Because Eve's breasts were bare in the mural, the Pilot Point Police
Department repeatedly threatened, in writing, to prosecute Miller under
a criminal statute aimed at those who would victimize children by
selling or displaying to them hard-core pornography. In order to avoid
the expense and embarrassment of being charged with such a sordid crime,
Miller covered Eve's breasts with a "Crime Scene Banner" tape.
"The threats against Mr. Miller by law enforcement were baseless and
wholly inappropriate," Harrell said. "The Farmers and Merchants Gallery
mural is no more pornographic than the Sistine Chapel or countless other
works of art portraying classical nude figures."
The ACLU said that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that
simple representations of nudity are a constitutionally protected form
of artistic expression. The Court has also declared that the First
Amendment bars government officials from censoring works that some
people might find offensive or morally improper.
The lawsuit, Miller v. City of Pilot Point, was filed on January 6 in
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Attorneys for
Miller are Michael D. Napoli and Frederick Linton Medlin of Dallas law
firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP.
CONTACT:
Paul Silva
ACLU Nat'l
212-549-2689
media@aclu.org
Will Harrell
ACLU of Texas
512-478-7300
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| User: "Bible Studies with Satan" |
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| Title: Re: ACLU Files Suit to Protect Biblical Artwork |
15 Jan 2005 12:38:46 PM |
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Will Harrell wrote:
Because Eve's breasts were bare in the mural, the Pilot Point Police
Department repeatedly threatened, in writing, to prosecute Miller under
a criminal statute aimed at those who would victimize children by
selling or displaying to them hard-core pornography.
Everybody knows Christians don't approve of natural breasts -- they prefer
artificial ones.
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| User: "Dionisio" |
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| Title: Re: ACLU Files Suit to Protect Biblical Artwork |
14 Jan 2005 11:04:43 PM |
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Will Harrell wrote:
DALLAS-The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas today announced that
it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Pilot Point and its police
department, charging that police officers violated an art gallery
owner's freedom of expression by coercing him to remove a mural
depicting the biblical story of Eve.
Oh dear, how will Robertson, Falwell, etc... spin this one? "ACLU
supports bare breasts"?
--
Why is it that heterosexuals blame the homosexuals for homosexuality when the genes and/or environment are predominantly provided by heterosexuals?
-- jstanley@gate.net, 02 Jan 1996
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