Can a cross on a police car showa lack of equal protection for all?

Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Childress Police Department’s display of the motto “In God We Trust” on patrol cars is not unconstitutional government favoritism toward a religion.

Now the sheriff of Brewster County in West Texas has decided to display a cross with a thin blue line on patrol vehicles. Gov. Greg Abbott argues that it’s appropriate because of our religious heritage. He says a cross in Arlington National Cemetery is a symbol of service and sacrifice, “not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs.”

Is a cross on a patrol vehicle a government “establishment of religion” banned by the Constitution?

I hope Gov. Abbott realizes that a lot of the graves in Arlington National Cemetery are not marked by crosses.

Maybe the sheriff of Brewster County can display a different religious symbol on each patrol vehicle. That seems equitable, but somehow I don’t think he’s going to go for it.

I think that crosses are fine on anything. The way things are going now, all police cars should display “In God We Trust — and ask for his protection.”

I’m not opposed to patrol cars with a cross displayed, but I have to be consistent in saying that I would object to the display of Islamic symbols.

Therefore, to be honest and consistent, I have to say they should not be displayed.

Police departments that need to put a cross on the side of their cars have missed the point. We need police officers who treat everyone the same without regard to race, religion or national origin.

Let’s get constitutionally fundamental with cause and effect:

Signs, pictures and words on a police car can in no rational way “establish” one government-dictated and law-required religion that everyone must join, follow or respect.

There is no lawful “establishment” either way, any more than that a blank-captioned police car could represent government retraction and dislike of the “freedom of the right to practice any religion of choice.”

I have no problem with an officer who acts and professes his or her faith.

However, the cars are used in rotation. How do you deal with an officer who is Muslim, Jewish, agnostic or atheist? Might this not offend them?

Being politically correct has reached the point of absurdity.

America was founded on Christian principles, which has served us well and is part of our heritage as the greatest nation on this globe.

The cross does not hurt, insult or threaten anyone except radicals who feel the only way to exist is to have it their way.

We’ve had the cross symbol for years, and we’ve done great, up until the last 10 years, when we got out of balance by being politically correct.

A cross on a police car violates the establishment clause.

Government employees can believe in whatever they wish — Christianity, Ouija boards, horoscopes. But in its official actions, the government must have no opinion on whether a god or gods exist, much less whether any particular beliefs about the supernatural are correct.

Because they’re human, government employees’ beliefs influence their actions. But their religious beliefs must not determine their official actions.

I was raised Christian but have decided that Christianity doesn’t make enough sense to deserve to be believed in. A government that displays a cross gives me reason to doubt it will treat me fairly.

Conceded, there can be no doubt that the Founders of our Constitution endorsed Christianity.

And while the Constitution did not require George Washington to put his hand on a Bible when he swore his oath of office, nor did it require him to add the words “so help me, God,” he did these things anyway, and every president after him has done the same.

But a cross on West Texas patrol cars is just too much.

As a granddaughter of a Methodist minister, I distinctly remember being taught that it’s at the very least rude to foist one’s religion on others.

Exceptions to that rule include: 1. If someone asks you about your religion, or 2. If you’re in the company of others whom you know share your beliefs.

Yes, we must put up with “In God We Trust” on our money. But if a squad car has a cross on it, would it mean: “I only serve and protect you if you’re a Christian”? Would other taxpayers be at a loss for police help?

Patrol vehicles should be clearly marked as such, with the name of whatever law enforcement agency they belong to and whatever identifying numbers or badges are required.

Why would we need anything else on such a vehicle? If the sheriff wants to make a Christian statement, the best thing he could do is to go out and sheriff like a Christian.

The First Amendment declares: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”

Per Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, the state of Connecticut allowed the practice of Baptist theology as a privilege, but the Constitution’s First Amendment erects a wall of separation between church and state.

The 10th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Congress cannot make such laws establishing a national religion. I am not aware these restrictions pertained to the individual sovereign states.

As Jefferson stated, the practice of a particular religion may be extended as a privilege by the individual state. Texas is a sovereign state!

I like the display of a cross. But it is now too late as we have let the genie out of the bottle and are now unable to get it back in.

We have allowed immigrants in numbers too large to assimilate — some with religions counter to the American ideals. Religious freedom also applies to them and they will demand that it be so.

If we now display our Christian sentiments on patrol cars, will we also have to accept something contrary to our values to please them?

Defacing or otherwise altering taxpayer property for the purpose of expressing a personal religious belief is in direct violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

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To me, it implies the government is endorsing a particular religion in violation of the First Amendment. I don’t think religious symbolism has any place in entities supported by tax dollars.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Can a cross on a police car showa lack of equal protection for all?."