The line has been crossed so often in this state between secular and religious, that they really don't know what they did is against the constitution. Or so they say.
Florida’s Constitution is explicit. It says:
“No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.”
Hernando County has also promised to provide taxpayer support for next year's festival.
Sour Note: Florida County Fails To Find Itself In Concert With The ConstitutionHernando County, Fla., officials saw no problem with allocating $5,000 in tax money to promote an event called the “Hernando Freedom Festival” in July. Local government officials are often eager to support events that might bring in tourist dollars, and this one attracted 15,000 people.
But it turns out that someone’s constitutional radar antenna was broken. This was no ordinary festival, and it should not have received taxpayer support. As the St. Petersburg Times has reported, “Hernando Freedom Festival” was sponsored by the Brooksville Ministerial Association. The event was evangelical in character and included a Christian concert.
..."Asked about the festival, Joseph Santerelli, head of the Ministerial Association, admitted that it was evangelical in character and then start spouting off the usual Religious Right nonsense about church-state separation not being in the Constitution and how all the founders were right-wing Christians and most people in the county are Christians. Blah, blah, blah.
A more coherent opinion was offered by Glenn Katon, director of the religious freedom project for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Katon noted that both the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Constitution ban diversion of tax aid for religious purposes.
The head of the ministerial association said that most likely most of the people in the county were Christians anyway. That is a very strange and arrogant assumption.
Tax money helped pay for faith-based event in Hernando Hernando's tourism bureau spent $5,000 in tourist tax revenue to sponsor the event through the Brooksville Ministerial Association. Last month, the Tourist Development Council agreed to allocate another $5,000 for the 2009 event. It was the largest allocation for any of the dozen local groups seeking tourism dollars to promote Hernando County.
The funding also stands out in another way: It may violate the Florida and U.S. Constitutions' language calling for the separation of church and state.
They just seem to ignore that the state constitution forbids such. They just excuse what they do.
"When there is not specific statute, the rule of 'public purpose' comes into play. The statutes are pretty gray in this respect and basically say that if the board determines in a public forum that an expenditure is a public purpose, then it is a legal expenditure,'' Gillis told the Times in an e-mail.
Even so, if the Clerk of the Circuit Court finds the public board's decision to be a stretch, it could be challenged, she said.
The ministerial head uses the claim that most in the county are Christian...
Joseph Santerelli, who heads the Ministerial Association, said that he didn't hesitate to ask for help from the tourism board. "I pay taxes,'' he said.
When he applied for the money this year, he said no one questioned the appropriateness of the funding. In fact, he said, "they were excited because of what they had already seen last year.''
Santerelli doesn't dispute the faith-based nature of the event. When questioned about the legal separation of church and state set out in the U.S. Constitution and legal opinions on the meaning of the so-called "establishment clause,'' Santerelli said the separation is not in the Constitution.
He went on to say that the country's governing documents were written by Christians, the country was founded by Christians, and the majority of Hernando County residents were likely Christians.
"Would you really want a complete separation of church and state?'' he asked.
Florida worries me with its lack of concern over keeping religion and secular issues separate. I feel it is being done deliberately and with knowledge it is not the right way to do things.
They keep pushing and pushing, just like they did with the
Church State showdown over vouchers for private religious schools.
Jeb kept pushing it, but finally the amendments were taken off the ballot by the Florida Supreme Court.
They never give up. It is like all the lawyers from the religious law schools started by Falwell and/Robertson are getting out into the field and setting up test cases. We have given more to the ACLU than ever before, and we have begun supporting Americans United as well.
It is not a Christian atmosphere they are after, it is just plain raw power they want.
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