INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana says a new ordinance declaring a southeastern Indiana county's courthouse lawn open to all viewpoints won't end a federal lawsuit challenging a Nativity scene displayed there each December for a half-century.
The ACLU of Indiana sued Franklin County in December on behalf of the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation. The suit contended the display violates the First Amendment because it “represents an endorsement of religion.''
ACLU attorney Gavin Rose says the plaintiffs still want the court to declare the previous years' Nativity displays unconstitutional despite the ordinance.
Attorney Peter Breen with the Thomas More Society is representing the county. He contends the case is now moot in light of the county's new ordinance.
