Voters Respond After City Council Removes Cross Memorial (4 Pics)

 Those anti-Christian bullies were at it it again; this time in Iowa.  In the small town of Knoxville, a veterans’ memorial has stood in the town park for some time until a complaint was received from the anti-Christian group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

What was their beef?  The memorial showed a silhouette of a soldier kneeling by a grave stone in the shape of a cross; a cross similar to the thousands at U.S. Military cemeteries around the world.

 This attack on the religious freedom of Knoxville has been going on since August when Americans United first complained.

It reached a head this week as Christian News Network explains:

Members of a city council in Iowa voted Monday to remove a veterans memorial that included a cross from a local park, and in turn, members of the community voted on Tuesday to remove the council members from office.

”We warned them multiple times if they let our town down they would be voted out,” Allison Schmitz of Stop the Insanity posted online this week. “They didn’t listen, and look, the people have spoken!”

As previously reported, the display features the silhouette of a soldier bending down on one knee before a cross-shaped grave marker, and was reportedly placed in Young’s Park by a local veteran. The individual had not sought permission from the city, but the city saw no issue with the memorial since it was understood to honor veterans.

In August, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) sent a letter to officials with the Iowa Department of Parks and Recreation to seek the removal of the memorial after it said that it received a complaint about its presence on government property.

The demand resulted in an uprising within the community, including a rally in support of the monument. But on Monday, council members voted 3-2 to have the memorial relocated to private property across the street and replaced with another display. April Verwers, Carolyn Formanek and David Roozeboom all voted against the memorial, while Dawn Allspach-Kline and Tim Pitt voted in favor of it.

 And how did the good citizens of Knoxville respond to this council vote to remove the memorial?  Christian News Networkhas the amazing twist:

In turn, on Election Day Tuesday, residents voted for Verwers and Formanek’s opponents, booting them from office. Roozeboom did not seek re-election.

“I think they needed to listen to the constituents along with the rallies,” newly-elected council member Rick Kingery told local television station KCCI. “The people put out 2,000 wooden crosses across town. That is a huge number. People wanted their voices heard, and they were not listened to.”

What a delicious irony!  On Monday the council voted 3-2 to remove the memorial.  On Tuesday, the citizens of Knoxville voted to remove the “removal” council members.

Talk about democracy in action.  These council members just learned first hand what it means to serve the people who have elected them; or not serve the people in this case.

As far as the memorial goes, the battle goes on according to Christian News Network:

But the Liberty Institute, which is representing the veteran who initially placed the monument, is now considering the available legal options, as it believes removal of the monument is unconstitutional.

This town showed how to deal with atheist bullies – never back down.  And, if those elected to represent the community refuse to take a stand for the wishes of the community, remove them from office and replace them with public servants who will.