250 rally to back UHP memorials

MURRAY — Freezing temperatures didn't keep at least 250 people from showing their support Saturday for allowing roadside crosses to honor Utah Highway Patrol troopers who have died in the line of duty.

No one from a national atheist group that is suing to have the crosses removed showed up at the rally.

Event organizer Dave Tabish looked out at the crowd and said, "They've got one heck of a fight on their hands."

Spurred on by the recent lawsuit, Tabish's motivation to rally in favor of the 14 crosses centers on the right to free speech.

"That's what it's all about," he said.

One of the supporters was Ron Gunderson, who parked his 1967 red, white and blue Corvette Sting Ray at the UHP office where the rally was held.

"I just wanted to do this as a statement," Gunderson said. "I believe in freedom, freedom to choose, freedom of religion."

About 15 feet away from Gunderson's car stood one of the controversial crosses — a memorial to fallen UHP trooper Joseph "Joey" Brumett, who was hit and killed by a motorist near I-15 and 3300 South in 1992 while at a crash scene.

At the rally, patriotic songs played over a loudspeaker that competed with noise from nearby I-15. Plastic pipes used for plumbing that had been fashioned into crosses were sold for $10 each. Professionally made signs that read "Bless Our Fallen Troops" went for $6. Small American flags that attach to cars were given away.

Ned and Mandy Gurulee held a flag and sign.

"We're just here to show our support," said Ned Gurulee, a former Marine.

His wife, Mandy, said the lawsuit to seek removal of the crosses has only opened a wound for the families of fallen troopers. She is currently working her way toward a degree in criminal justice.

"They've given their lives for our families," she said of the troopers. "This is the least we could do."

American Atheists Inc., however, wants the 12-foot crosses removed from public places.

The Texas-based nonprofit group recently filed a complaint against the UHP commander and the executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation. The group wants crosses removed from public sites where UHP trooper have died in the line of duty.

American Atheists president Ellen Johnson said on the organization's Web site that the lawsuit in Utah is one of many that seek the removal of Christian crosses and memorials from public rights-of-way here and in other states.

The UHP crosses are paid for and set up by a fraternal order of troopers. Donations and volunteer workers, including Boy Scouts, cover everything from materials to digging the hole for the cross.