It Pays to Complain!

Thirty-foot Cross Removed in Oklahoma City

March 13, 2003

Oklahoma City officials removed a 30-foot-high concrete cross on public property on Feb. 26, following a complaint lodged in December by Foundation Life Member Jim Worrell, which was followed up this year by a letter from the national Freedom From Religion Foundation, of Madison, Wis.

The cross had been displayed for nearly four decades at the city-owned State Fair Grounds, maintained by the private Oklahoma State Fair.

Mr. Worrell reminded officials that the city of Edmond lost a costly lawsuit challenging use of a cross on its city seal. Foundation president Anne Gaylor noted in her follow-up complaint that no court has ever ruled in favor of a cross erected permanently on public property.

The Daily Oklahoman reported that no one knows who originally provided the cross or when precisely it was erected, although a photograph dating from the 1950s documented its presence then.

Following removal of the cross, all but one Oklahoma City Council member, voting in early March, backed City Manager Jim Couch's decision to remove the cross to avoid a lawsuit. That representative, Brent Rinehart, averred: "the cross, Christianity, religion, it's what American stands for, it's what this country was founded on."

Other council members praised the city manager for avoiding a costly and losing legal battle. Mayor Kirk Humphrey was quoted saying he was "disappointed," but that a lawsuit might be "an exercise in futility."

Mr. Worrell has received several threats since removal of the cross. "Some are calling me unAmerican, some are saying I'll burn in hell. One guy said he was going to come over to my house and we'd meet face to face."

He told the newspaper: "Let's say somebody else wanted to put a statue of Joseph Smith for the Mormons or a statue of Mohammed for the Muslims at the park. That's another reason the state needs to stay out of religion."

Gaylor, whose organization received some nasty phone calls and emails too, praised city manager James Couch for his timely and responsive action to honor the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state. She also thanked member Jim Worrell for taking action, and for alerting the Foundation, a national state/church watchdog group, about the violation.

"It's a pleasure to witness a public body taking responsive steps to uphold the separation of church and state, without having to be sued," she added.

The city plans to put the cross up for bids later in March.

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The action was reported in the Oklahoman, Feb. 27, 2003 and March 5, 2003.