Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) shared a photo of chalk artwork her children created on the ground outside the governor’s mansion.
“New artwork to welcome people into the Governor’s mansion! So proud of how hard the kids worked and how well their masterpiece turned out!” Sanders wrote when sharing a photo.
The design features a large cross at the center of a what appears to resemble a colorful stained-glass window.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State called for the governor to remove the artwork.
“Promotion of one religion over others through a religious display at an entrance to the Mansion sends the impermissible message that those who do not share the favored faith are unwelcome and will be treated differently,” the group’s letter reads. “While you and your family members are free to create and display religious imagery in private areas of your Mansion and its grounds, displaying a cross at an entrance ‘to welcome people into the Governor’s mansion’ violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. We therefore ask that you remove the display and refrain from placing similar displays in public areas of the Mansion in the future.”
But Sanders rejected the call for removal in no uncertain terms.
“I have received your letter and my answer is no. I will not erase the beautiful cross my kids drew in chalk on the driveway of the Governor’s Mansion or remove my post on social media, and I will not now or ever hide that I am a Christian, saved by Christ,” the governor declared in her letter of response.
“You are wrong to claim that our Constitution prevents public officials, let alone their families, from making earnest expressions of religious faith. Our founding documents are riddled with religious language — stating plainly that the very rights you claim to defend are ‘endowed by our Creator.’ You are asking me to ignore that truth and hide a crucial part of my identity and the identity of my kids. That, I will not do,” she wrote. “I am offended by the implication that, just because I am a Christian, I am somehow a bigot. All people, of all faiths, are welcome in our state. All Arkansans are welcome in the Governor’s Mansion.”
Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, previously served as White House press secretary during a portion of Donald Trump’s presidency.
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