Americans United for Separation of Church and State has picked a fight with the wrong governor. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is rejecting their demands to remove the chalk drawing of a cross outside the governor’s mansion, asserting that the depiction is constitutional and also an expression of her family’s faith.
The back-and-forth began on June 26, when Sanders, a Republican, posted a photo on social media of a drawing made by her children on the pavement at the entrance of the governor’s residence. The colorful chalk drawing resembled a stained-glass window with a cross at the center. “New artwork to welcome people into the governor’s mansion!” she wrote. “So proud of how hard the kids worked and how well their masterpiece turned out!”
Dear @americansunited,
I have received your letter and my answer is no.
I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian.
My letter⬇️ https://t.co/cdt9vJsMUk pic.twitter.com/3pdur4Fdmj
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) June 30, 2023
Sanders’ post sparked a letter from the organization, which claimed it had received a complaint about the artwork. The letter asserted that “promotion of one religion over others through a religious display at an entrance to the mansion sends the impermissible message that those who do not share the favored faith are unwelcome and will be treated differently.”
Sanders, however, said in a follow-up letter that she would not remove the artwork.
“I have received your letter, and my answer is no,” she wrote. “I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the governor’s mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian, saved by Christ. You are wrong to claim that our Constitution prevents public officials, let alone their families, from making earnest expressions of religious faith. Our founding documents are riddled with religious language, stating plainly that the very rights you claim to defend are ‘endowed by our Creator.’
“You are asking me to ignore that truth and hide a crucial part of my identity and the identity of my kids. That, I will not do. In Arkansas, we stand up to bullying liberals.”
Many on social media have been supportive with some saying that if the children had drawn a pride flag, liberals would not have had an issue.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
