SUPREME COURT (AP) _ The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a small religious group cannot force a Utah city to place a granite marker in a public park that already has a Ten Commandments display.
The case involves a group called Summum, which wants to erect a monument to the “Seven Aphorisms” it says were given to Moses along with the Ten Commandments.
Pleasant Grove City rejected the request, prompting a federal lawsuit. A federal appeals court found that the city violated Summum’s free speech rights.
But the Supreme Court noted that while speakers eventually stop speaking, monuments last longer and “help define a city’s identity,” so governments can choose some and reject others.
Summum’s lawyer says the group will continue to press its case by arguing that governments cannot favor one religion over another
– an issue not directly addressed in the Supreme Court decision.