Bay Area atheists who fought for cross removal: Christians shouldn't have 'special privilege'

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California religious community fighting to restore cross taken down by city

Long-time Bay Area resident Dorena Osborn details the battle over a historic cross which was removed from a town outside San Francisco, Calif.

An atheist group who fought to take down a large cross from a San Francisco-area park said Christians in the community had long enjoyed a "special privilege" of having the religious symbol up on public property.

Larry Hicok, coordinator for the East Bay Atheists, led the fight in 2015 to remove the cross on Albany Hill, which had overlooked the city of Albany and the East Bay for over 50 years. He argued the cross was not only unconstitutional, but also made the city appear exclusionary to unbelievers.

"Our presence at many city council meetings over the years, always stressing the illegality and immorality of giving Christianity the special privilege of having its cross dominating the park, provided the impetus for the council to continue working to remove the cross," he said to Fox News Digital.

The land where the cross stood had once been privately owned but was sold to the city by a developer afterward and became part of a public park. Before selling, the original landowners created an easement granting maintenance of the cross to a local community service group, the Albany Lions Club. The East Bay Atheists led a grassroots effort asking the city council to remove the cross, arguing it was unconstitutional and could be a fire hazard on the hilltop park. A lengthy court battle ensued between the Albany Lions Club and the Albany City Council. 

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Larry Hicok (right) and another member of the East Bay Atheists holding signs protesting cross in Albany Hill park. (Courtesy Larry Hicok)

"We called attention to the extreme fire danger represented by the cross, with its blatant and illegal use of a bay tree swaying in the wind in place of a phone pole. This represented a severe fire danger, and we initially focused on pointing out that the Lions Club should be held to the same legal standards as the rest of us," Hicok explained. The local group leader said they continued to raise concerns about the cross to the city council, where they clashed with Christians in the community who wanted the cross to stay.

"None of the pro-cross speakers even began to grasp the morality of the constitutional arguments, confining their comments to how great it felt having their version of Christianity featured by an illuminated cross at the top of a hill in a city park," he told Fox News Digital.

A federal judge agreed, ruling that the cross violated the First Amendment by favoring one religion over another, NBC Bay Area reported. The city was given pre-judgement possession and was allowed to take the cross down in June.

Hicok said the cross, which the Albany Lions Club lit up on Christian holidays, sent an unwelcome message to atheists, agnostics and followers of other religions.

"It makes you feel like you're not really part of the group…and you feel kind of left out," he explained. He said his group's goal was simply "to keep government and religion separate and let people have their own religious opinions and and and not give special privileges to whoever has the biggest club."

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East Bay Atheists protesting Albany Hill Cross (courtesy Larry Hicok)

Hicok denied opposition to the cross was fueled by rumors the cross had an association with KKK cross burnings in the area. He claimed city leaders had rejected such claims and Christians in the community were only repeating them to distract from the "real issues." 

He stressed he did not hate the cross but didn't believe it should be in the park.

"[I ]can say that I don’t hate the cross. I would fight for its right to be in a church where it belongs instead of enjoying a special privilege inside a city park," he explained. "Also our only role in getting people on the council, was that several of us did distribute flyers for two candidates’ reelection campaigns; one of those candidates was a devout Christian who agreed that the cross should not be on park property."

Hicok said their effort was aided by a number of local ministers in the community and a surrounding city Lions Club. The atheist group brought their case to the Freedom From Religion Foundation "FFRF," which advocates for the separation of church and state. 

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Young man holding a cross for glorifying God.  (iStock)

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-President of FFRF, praised the city council for taking down the Christian symbol, saying it made Albany look like a "Christian theocracy."

"That they endorse Christians, favor Christians. It just sends an un-American message," the FFRF leader explained to Fox News Digital.

Albany Mayor Aaron Tiedmann also celebrated the decision to take down the cross as consistent with the Bay Area city's values.

Close-up of sign reading Albany Stands United Against Hate, part of a city-wide initiative to resist alt-right protests in Albany, California, December 13, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

"The city has actually put its money where its mouth is, and our city looks a little bit more accepting now in a way that we think is consistent with our values," Albany Mayor Aaron Tiedemann told the East Bay Times. "For the small local group of people that really want to see the cross stay, when you’ve had such privilege for so long, losing it feels like being oppressed. That’s going to be an adjustment for folks, but I think we will all get used to it, and I think it’s a real benefit."

Laurie Gaylor's group filed an amicus brief supporting the city of Albany in their legal fight with the Albany Lions Club. She said they took up the case because government should be "free from religion."

Both leaders from the FFRF and East Bay Atheists saw the cross case as part of a larger trend of the judicial system showing partiality to Christians, pointing to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"We have had a takeover of the Supreme Court by Trump, who promised to appoint, basically, judges that would vote in favor of Christianity against abortion. They had a litmus test when they were appointed. And that does have a chilling effect on all the lower courts," Laurie Gaylor explained.

Hicok argued that the legal standard for religious symbols on public property had morphed in the past decade.

"Ten years ago, the accepted legal standard for religious monuments on public property was whether they were outwardly religious or historical. Suddenly crosses were declared war memorials in an attempt to obfuscate the truth. Now the Albany Lions Club bases the defense of its cross on the persecution of Christianity and the concept that the least harmful way to resolve the issue is to sell a tiny plot to the club for a pittance. They glorify their pleasure in holding religious services at the cross. This defense is a radical departure from accepted legal standards," he said.

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