Statue defense gains supporters
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and the American Legion have filed legal briefs with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, joining others who have intervened to try to uphold a court ruling that found the Jesus statue on Big Mountain to be constitutional.
The briefs were filed by Wednesday’s deadline in support of a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen that is being challenged by a Wisconsin-based group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The foundation contends that the statue, which sits on a small plot of leased national forest land at Whitefish Mountain Resort, violates the U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
Christensen determined that is not the case because the government “neither owns the statue nor exercises control over the property on which it is located.”
The statue was erected nearly 60 years ago by veterans of the 10th Mountain Division as a veterans memorial. It has been maintained by the Catholic fraternal group, the Knights of Columbus, ever since.
“Judge Christensen got it right in his ruling,” Fox said. “The statue is the private speech of its private owners. That speech is protected by the U.S. Constitution, and the federal government forcibly removing the statue would amount to a violation of the rights that the soldiers of the Tenth Mountain Division fought and died to protect.”
The American Legion intervened with representation by the Liberty Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty in the United States.
“The removal of the Tenth Mountain Division Memorial would be an insult to Montana’s Tenth Mountain Division veterans,” said Jeff Mateer, general counsel for the institute. “It would also undercut the American Legion’s ability to honor those who have and continue to serve in our nation’s armed forces.”
The Kalispell Knights of Columbus intervened in the case with representation from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Eric Baxter, senior counsel for the Becket Fund, said it is “preposterous” to claim the statue violates the Establishment Clause.
“The government allows all kinds of private activity in our national forests and there is a large plaque next to the statue explaining its origins and purpose. No reasonable person would think that the Forest Service is tryinÔg to establish a national religion through the statue, any more than they would think it is trying to establish a national sport by allowing the ski resort to also use the mountain.”
Baxter said he anticipated that Whitefish Mountain Resort and possibly a historical society would file amicus briefs related to the case by midnight Wednesday.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation gets to respond within the next week. Oral arguments will take place sometime in the next six months, Baxter said, and the appellate court could take several more months to issue an opinion.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.