“This country was founded on Judeo-Christian values,” said Bill Bunting in the January 22 Tampa Tribune, adding that atheists who disapprove of such a display “can put a banner over it and take [the banner] down when you leave.”
Bunting has also gotten a pledge from Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Palm Harbor) to buy new American flags for each library to display. The libraries removed their flags, which were mounted on portable stands in meeting rooms, and stored them away because children often knocked the flags down.
Assistant County Administrator Dan Johnson, who requested legal counsel, told the Tribune he believes “the issue of separation of church and state may be getting cloudy” due to federal mandates the county is receiving “to give a share of grant money to faith-based organizations.”
Posted January 28, 2005.