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Down, set, hike! Ban of Bible verses at high school football field angers small Georgia town
By DORIE TURNER
Associated Press Writer
(AP) 06:01:12 PM (ET), Friday, October 2, 2009 (FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga.)
When the Warriors of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High take the field Friday night, the football team won't be running through the cheerleaders' usual banner bearing a Bible verse.

The school district banned the banners last week over concerns they were unconstitutional and could provoke a lawsuit, angering many in the deeply religious north Georgia town of Fort Oglethorpe.

"I'm just kind of unnerved about it," said 18-year-old Cassandra Cooksey, a recent graduate who often prayed with her fellow marching band members before football games. "It seems like the majority of people in our community want this and they don't have a problem with it, so I think they should be allowed to have the signs if they want to."

The move has galvanized the community. Hundreds of people attended a rally this week supporting the signs, which included messages such as: "Commit to the Lord, whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Many students attended class Friday wearing shirts with Bible verses and painted their cars with messages that read: "Warriors for Christ."

"When you get a whole bunch of teenagers mad, this is what happens. We stand up for what believe in," 16-year-old Shelby Rouse said over the roar of a pre-game pep rally.

The 900-student school began running through the Biblical banners shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and school Principal Jerry Ransom said he enthusiastically supported it then. But Catoosa County schools Superintendent Denia Reese banned the practice after a parent complained.

Reese said the school board's attorney advised her the signs violated federal law because they were being displayed by the cheerleaders during a school-sponsored event.

"I regret that the cheerleaders cannot display their signs in the football stadium without violating the First Amendment," Reese said in a statement. "I rely on reading the Bible daily, and I would never deny our students the opportunity to express their religious beliefs."

The Anti-Defamation League, a human rights group, sent a letter to Reese commending the ban.

"There are legal ways for students to have religious observation in a school context and there are illegal ways, and we believe Reese is correct that the football game crosses a line," said Bill Nigut, the group's southeast regional director.

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On the Net:

Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School:


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* Public schools falls under the heading of "state".
You have heard about separation of church , state and free speech.
Comments ?
Should any religious symbolism should be kept out ? *
There maybe other avenues...possibly ? *

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