A police department in Harper, Kansas gave into pressure from one of America’s biggest atheist organizations to remove religious decals from patrol vehicles. After an unidentified resident brought it to their attention, Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sent a letter to the police chief Doug Murphy demanding that his department immediately get rid of the religious decal from the municipal-owned patrol truck.
The decal located on the upper right corner of one of the truck’s tailgate cited a passage from Romans 13:4:
“For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer,” it read.
FFRF’s letter informed Murphy how displaying such a decal on a municipal-owned patrol truck clearly violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
“These decals must be removed,” the letter demanded.
The letter was signed by FFRF’s staff attorney, Andrew Seidel, who explained that the atheist organization had only recently settled a lawsuit with Brewster County Sheriff’s department after authorities refused to remove crosses from patrol vehicles. The lawsuit eventually led to the county removing the crosses as well as paying more than $20,000 in fees and legal costs to FFRF. Seidel also pointed out how a police vehicle endorsing Christianity signals to at least 30 percent of America’s population who do not identify as Christians that they do not belong to the larger majority and are possible outsiders.
Seidel then went on to assert that Romans 13:4 sends out a particularly disturbing message.
“Romans 13 begins by claiming, 'there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained by God' (King James Version). The idea directly conflicts with the Constitutions source of power: 'We the people,’” he stated. “There is also something perverse about referring to ‘revengers,’ ‘bearing swords,’ and ‘executing wrath,’ when your true job is to protect and serve.”
Responding to FFRF’s letter, Murphy—with the backing of Harper’s mayor Scott Blubaugh—sent a message to Seidel, assuring him that the decal in question had already been removed.
“The Harper Police Department has removed the decal ‘Romans 13:4’ from the city-owned vehicle it was on,” the brief message read.
Blubaugh told the local media that he had consulted Harper’s attorney before deciding against the decal.
FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor issued a statement soon after, celebrating Harper’s decision.
“This was a particularly obvious violation of the First Amendment for us to draw public attention to,” Gaylor stated. “Once that happened, the Harper Police Department quickly realized the folly of its ways.”
Photo Credits: The Christian Post
