Mayor Compares Atheists To Nazis, KKK After Being Sued By ACLU, Secular Groups

[Lakhota]

The American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan and two secular groups are suing the city of Warren and its mayor, Jim Fouts, on behalf of an atheist resident who was forbidden from setting up a "reason station" alongside a long-standing "prayer station" in the City Hall atrium.

While Fouts has permitted a local church group to distribute religious pamphlets and pray with visitors in the atrium since 2009, he rejected a similar proposal by Freedom From Religion member Douglas Marshall to discuss atheism and freethought in April.

Wednesday's lawsuit, filed with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, claims that Fouts violated Marshall's First Amendment rights by endorsing "traditional religious beliefs over atheistic beliefs."

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, states:

Defendants' decision made Mr. Marshall feel unwelcome at the Civic Center, an outsider in the community, a second-class citizen in Warren, and a disfavored member of a religious minority group. Mr. Marshall further objects to his tax payments supporting the operation and maintenance of a facility that Defendants control in a discriminatory manner that advances traditional religious beliefs over atheistic beliefs.​

Comparing atheists to Nazis and white supremacists, Fouts argued that Marshall's "reason station" would be fundamentally antagonistic to prayer.

"The city has certain values that I don't believe are in general agreement with having an atheist station, nor in general agreement with having a Nazi station or Ku Klux Klan station," Fouts added. "I cannot accept or will not allow a group that is disparaging of another group to have a station here."

Marshall is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions mandating the city to permit the "reason station" to operate on the same terms as the "prayer station."

Mayor Compares Atheists To Nazis, KKK After Being Sued By ACLU, Secular Groups

Atheists should have the same rights. Reason makes more sense than prayer.

 

[Stephanie]

omg
now we've went down to mayors
do you live in the state, the city of this mayor? or you just need to stir up shit.

this place was better off when you were gone

 

[occupied]

I love it when atheists troll the system but truth be told people like this are annoying as hell in person with their atheist evangelizing. Just like Mormons but not nearly as nice. Atheism is this man's religion of sorts and he should rightfully be banned from public land and facilities as much as the Christians.

 

[Lakhota]

I love it when atheists troll the system but truth be told people like this are annoying as hell in person with their atheist evangelizing. Just like Mormons but not nearly as nice. Atheism is this man's religion of sorts and he should rightfully be banned from public land and facilities as much as the Christians.

I'm fine with banning them all. Banning them ALL. I much prefer a SECULAR world.