Thanks to FFRF, a cross was removed from the lobby of a Florida VA Medical Center.
A volunteer at the medical center reported that a large cross display was put up in October at the Malcolm (it’s spelled Malcom. The letter was incorrect) Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville. The display also featured a religious prayer.
FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert sent a letter to the center, alerting it to the unconstitutionality of such a display and also pointing out that the display is exclusionary of non-religious service members.
“Veterans are frequently compelled to come to the center to receive medical care and other services,” Markert wrote. “The over 23 percent of military personnel who either express no religious preference or are atheists should not be made to feel offended, excluded, and like ‘outsiders, not full members of the political community’ because the center, a government facility, contains prominently placed religious statements.”
FFRF received a call from the center that the display has been removed from the lobby.
