Americans United protests Maine town's `Bible Week'. (Around The States).A Maine Maine, ship Maine, U.S. battleship destroyed (Feb. 15, 1898) in Havana harbor by an explosion that killed 260 men. The incident helped precipitate the Spanish-American War (Apr., 1898). Commanded by Capt. Charles Sigsbee, the ship had been sent (Jan. town's proclamation An act that formally declares to the general public that the government has acted in a particular way. A written or printed document issued by a superior government executive, such as the president or governor, which sets out such a declaration by the government. of "Bible Week" has sparked a protest from Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment . In mid November, the Biddeford mayor and city council issued a proclamation naming the last week in November as "Bible Week" and urging citizens to read the Bible. Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the AU legal team informed Mayor Donna J. Dion and the members of the city council that issuance of the religious proclamation runs afoul of a·foul of prep. 1. In or into collision, entanglement, or conflict with. 2. Up against; in trouble with: ran afoul of the law. the First Amendment and asked them to refrain from issuing such proclamations in the future. "By officially designating `Bible Week,' and thereby endorsing the specific religious traditions to which the text is sacred," the city's actions send the message "to nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community," AU attorneys Alex Luchenitser and Kerry Kornblatt Jowers stated in the Jan. 8 letter to Biddeford officials. |
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