Lakeland - Munn Park Cenotaph plaintiff's attorney, David McCallister, announced today that the plaintiffs in the case are asking the US Supreme Court to weigh in on their Federal Lawsuit against Mayor William "Bill" Mutz, the City of Lakeland and others over the removal of the historic monument from Historic Munn Park. The City argued in their response to the lawsuit that they were justified in moving the monument based on a Supreme Court Decision, Summum v. Pleasant Grove. Summum was a 2009 decision that created the "Government Speech Doctrine". "Summum is the 'get of jail free card' woke politicians on the cancel culture bandwagon are using to move these historic monuments" McCallister added. "There are several complaints we have against Mutz and the City but We are directly challenging Summum" he said. McCallister noted that the court is not obliged to hear the case but "as far as we know, it is the only case we know that is challenging Summum". Several of the plaintiffs were on hand to comment on the case as well as City of Lakeland Mayoral challenger candidate Saga Stevin. Ms. Stevin said "this is about First Amendment rights....free speech for everybody". McCallister concluded by distributing copies of the Petition for Writ of Certiorari calling it an "appetizer" for the Court to consider hearing the case. The event concluded with a rousing strain of "God Bless America" by the participants. SAVE SOUTHERN HERITAGE Inc. is a not for profit public welfare corporation that educates & advocates on behalf of Southern Heritage & History. It was started in 2015 in response to the knee-jerk Anti-Southern institutionalized bullying and “Erase-ism” levied against the people of South Carolina by Governor Nikki Haley, after she broke all previous agreements about how South Carolina’s historical veterans and their symbols should be treated and respected. The Florida branch was activated in mid-January 2016, in response to three initiatives in the Florida Legislature that are part of a hate campaign led by Anti-American extremists, who refuse to respect the various cultures that make up the fabric of Florida’s society. Since that time, it has grown in membership and has been active in Heritage battles throughout Florida including the “We'll Remember in November Campaign” that resulted in #heritagehater candidates to loose elections in Florida. More info: www.sshfl.org.
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