Ten Commandments Removed by Oakland, City Caves to Activists

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    The City of Oakland, California removed a 6 foot high granite monument, "The Ten Commandments" today, July 25th, 2012.  A written demand to remove the monument from the City Zoo property was sent to the Oakland Mayor and City Officials by Joey Piscitelli, on behalf of numerous secular groups, on May 29th.
    A protest and media event was scheduled for this coming Sunday, July 29th, and a massive demonstration was pending. Several dozen participants from the East Bay Atheists, and American Atheists Inc, were ready to picket the Zoo at 1 P.M. on Sunday. The Oakland Zoo officials released a statement Wednesday saying that "the activists had nothing to do with the decision to remove the Ten Commandments."
    But activists claim that the Citys' statement is "obviously false", and that the decision to remove the Christian symbol was based on the complaints, further pending public protests, and the repeated demand for the removal.
Piscitelli had originally sent a letter in 2008, asking the City to remove the Ten Commandments monument, which was placed in the landscaping in front of the "Snow Building" event center, on public Oakland Zoo property. The City did not respond to the first complaint. The granite symbol was perched on a garden slope, overlooking the bay and horizon, and it partially blocked the view of the SF Bay, and background horizon.
    The monument was placed on the property by the Zoo in 1965, after it was donated to the Zoo by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. The Fraternal Order of Eagles embarked on a campaign to place religious symbolic dogma on public properties in the late 1950's and 1960's. Several thousand of the Ten Commandment monuments were allowed to be placed on public properties throughout the USA, and those monuments have been the instigator of numerous protests and lawsuits throughout the country, many of which are still pending today.
   Recent lawsuit and appeals court decisions on the matter of the removal of the same Ten Commandment monuments have resulted in different outcomes. In Texas, the monument was allowed to stay, in Kentucky, the court ordered the monument to be removed.
   In a letter to Joey Piscitelli from the City of Oakland Attorney in June, the City had stated that the monument was legal and constitutional, according to the Supreme Court decision concerning the similar monument placed on the Texas property. Piscitelli argued that the Texas monument stood with several other placards and monuments, but the Oakland monument stood alone.
   The East Bay Atheists stated that "the decision to remove the monument was a fair and wise decision", and that "the City of Oakland is a diverse community which should respect the equality and beliefs of all citizens". The group claims a victory for 1st Amendment rights, and a victory for freethinkers.

Views: 156

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by Joey Piscitelli on July 25, 2012 at 11:52pm

   The City of Oakland can't push religion on people, it should be a choice.

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
57 minutes ago
cheeki kea replied to cheeki kea's discussion Tartaria
" I think first evidence of the lost empires Language (tartarian) needs to be discovered or at…"
6 hours ago
cheeki kea posted a discussion
8 hours ago
Doc Vega's 6 blog posts were featured
12 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
17 hours ago
tjdavis posted a blog post
17 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Riefenstahl - Official Trailer

A captivating insight into the private estate of Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous with her Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will" but kept denyi...
18 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post One of Many Witnesses to the JFK Assassination Not Listed in the Warren Report
"tjdavis Thanks for your support! "
Friday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Friday
tjdavis favorited Doc Vega's blog post One of Many Witnesses to the JFK Assassination Not Listed in the Warren Report
Friday
Burbia commented on KLC's group MUSICWARS
Thursday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

The Unnerving Frequency of Disappearances on the Appalachian Trail Pt. 1

There’s another one of the cluster zones of missing persons reports that fails to render the…See More
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Waste runs deep

"Make USAID - go away."
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

$ Paid Annual Leave $

"Now is the Time for American Workers to Unite! Take back the squandered taxes and demand time off…"
Mar 31
cheeki kea posted a photo
Mar 31
Burbia commented on Burbia's blog post Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.
Mar 31
Burbia posted a blog post

Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.

I guess releasing this bio-weapon upon Israeli neighbors would be hitting too close to home. I…See More
Mar 31
tjdavis posted videos
Mar 31
tjdavis posted a video

The Electric State | Final Trailer | Netflix

Together, robots & humans can take the whole system down. THE ELECTRIC STATE starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt and directed by the Russo Brothers, onl...
Mar 29

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted