CHRISTIANSBURG, Va.-A Virginia sheriff's department is removing Bible verse decals that have adorned the backs of its patrol cars since March.
The Roanoke Times reports Montgomery County Sheriff Hank Partin's announcement Thursday that the decals would come off came after county officials began asking questions and amid criticism from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Virginia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The decals state, "Blessed are the peacemakers... Matthew 5:9."
They decals were donated by a company that designs graphics for the office.
The ACLU of Virginia and the Freedom From Religion Foundation raised concerns that the decals could be seen as promoting one religion over another.
School district's motion challenged
BLUEFIELD, W. Va.-A group suing Mercer County schools over its "Bible in the Schools" programs has filed a response to the school system's motion to dismiss.
Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports the Freedom from Religion Foundation Inc. filed their response in the U.S. District Court in Bluefield.
A Wisconsin-based group filed the original suit in January on behalf of two parents of children who either attend or will attend Mercer County schools. The lawsuit alleges that the Bible in Schools programs improperly entangles public schools with religion.
Lawyers representing Mercer County schools filed the dismissal last month on multiple grounds including that the original suit doesn't attack the curriculum of Bible classes; instead, it allegedly attacks that the program exists.
A hearing on the motion has been set for June 19.
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Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, http://www.bdtonline.com