A federal appeals court ruled the presence of a cross in Lehigh County’s seal is historical in nature and not a government endorsement of a religion. (Contributed Photo / THE MORNING CALL) The Lehigh County seal can remain as is, with its cross. And we can only hope that seals the fate of cockamamie attempts to stir up controversies about government being influenced by religion. There wasn’t any controversy about the presence of the cross in the 75-year-old county seal until the Freedom From Religion Foundation — in Wisconsin — pretended there was. Groups like that put governments, and their taxpayers, in precarious positions for no good reason. The foundation and four members who are county residents sued in 2016, alleging the cross violated the Constitution’s ban on government endorsement of religion. Lehigh had to decide whether to cave or fight. I’m glad it fought. It’s important to stand up to bullies. But the fight could have been costly, because if the county had lost, it could have been forced to pay the foundation’s legal fees. The victory means the county didn’t pay a cent, as the case was handled for free by a public interest nonprofit Washington, D.C. […]
