The Oil City Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) held a public rededication ceremony outside its facility on Monday after a bench featuring a God-centered quote from Pennsylvania’s founder was given back to the organization as city leaders voted to remove the display from a public park due to a complaint from a professing atheist organization. A crowd gathered along the banks of the Allegheny River to witness the occasion, which was heralded by patriotic music and

speeches. A motorcycle guard, decked with American flags, also lined the streets to accompany the bench to the VFW property. “The problem we’re solving today is the effect of the negative influence of persons who demand respect for their beliefs, but are not willing to do so toward others,” lamented State Rep. James Lee, R-Seneca, according to video footage from KDKA-TV. As previously reported, American Atheists (AA) sent a letter last November to the mayor of Oil City to request that the bench, which was donated in 2003 by the VFW, be removed from Justus Park. READ MORE


Advertisement