Legislation to Protect the Big Mountain Jesus Statue

Back in October, we brought to your attention yet another crazy attempt by the Freedom From Religion Foundation to eradicate all religious expression from the public sphere. This time the target was a Jesus Statue that is part of a World War II Memorial on Big Mountain in Montana.

We engaged immediately and ACLJ members answered the bell in large numbers, with more than 70,000 of you signing a letter calling for the Forest Service to renew the lease in question without a requirement that the statue be removed.

Now, while we await a decision on the lease, a legislative backup plan is gaining momentum. Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) has been working to defend the statue, and has introduced H.R. 3500, which authorizes a land swap between the Federal Government and the Whitefish Mountain Resort, effectively transferring the memorial in question to private ownership. While such a move should never be required – there is no prohibition on symbols with religious significance on federal lands – the legislation does present a backup plan should the Forest Service erroneously decide to terminate the lease in question.

H.R. 3500 is set for a legislative hearing this Friday morning in the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands. We will be in attendance as Congressman Rehberg presents the legislation to the Committee and advocates for its passage. This is an important development to ensure that the fight to preserve the statue goes on even if the Forest Service fails to act properly.

We applaud Congressman Rehberg for his actions to preserve the Jesus Statue, and we thank the more than 70,000 of you who so quickly stood with us to make sure that this World War II Memorial wasn’t removed simply because of intimidation tactics. We will be sure to keep you posted on developments.