From Deseret News archives:
Summum may display aphorisms
A ruling released Tuesday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says the group has a right under the First Amendment to display a monument in the park until a lawsuit between the Summum faith and Pleasant Grove city is resolved.
Now city officials must decide if they will appeal the preliminary injunction, remove their existing monument or do nothing.
"We're still trying to figure out what the rationale behind the ruling was and what exactly it was (the 10th U.S. Circuit Court) ruled against," said Pleasant Grove Mayor Mike Daniels. "Until we get those details, we won't have an answer."
If the city does nothing, a new monument representing the Summum philosophy could appear in the park, which the city says has been established to host historical relics that are of significance to the city.
If the city appeals the process, the preliminary injunction will not take effect until a secondary decision is made. If the city removes its monument, it is likely the Summum group will no longer pursue its lawsuit, said Summum attorney Brian Barnard of the Utah Legal Clinic in Salt Lake City.
"That changes the situation drastically because our presentation is, if (Pleasant Grove) is allowing one person to (display a monument) in the city park, they can allow everybody, but if they're not going to allow everybody, that changes the landscape dramatically," Barnard said. "It may well be that Pleasant Grove says, 'We'll just take the monument down,' but that's not my client's desire. Their desire is to be able to put up their monument and share their Seven Aphorisms with the world just like the Ten Commandments are shared with the world."
The Seven Aphorisms of the Summum faith — which was founded in Utah in 1975 — deal with the principles of psychokinesis, correspondence, vibration, opposition, rhythm, cause and effect and gender. The philosophy also incorporates modern mummification.
According to Daniels, the aphorisms are not appropriate for the park because they do not represent a connection to the community. The Ten Commandments monument was donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, whose members performed hours of service for the city, Daniels said. If the city were to remove the existing monument to avoid erecting the aphorisms, Daniels said, residents would likely be upset.
