TIJERAS, N.M. - The village council of Tijeras agreed Thursday to be represented by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund in their battle against a lawsuit threatened by the ACLU. The ACLU claims the village logo violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it depicts a small cross.
"We have carefully reviewed the ACLU's allegations and believe the seal is entirely constitutional under the law," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. "The main feature of the city seal is not the cross but the Zia, which is a Native American religious symbol. The symbols of the seal reflect the history and culture of this ancient village. Many of the same design elements, such as the Zia, are found in the state flag. Why isn't the ACLU suing against the state flag?"
The seal, which depicts a conquistador's helmet and sword, the Native American Zia symbol, and a small rosary, was designed in 1973 to accurately reflect the village's history and not to further any religion.
"The ACLU is once more specifically targeting a cross while it ignores Native American religious symbols. It reveals their desire to target all things Christian, regardless of the fact that the cross in the Tijeras seal is clearly an historic symbol and not an attempt to endorse any particular faith," McCaleb said.
"The Village of Tijeras has retained the services of ADF because of the strong support and numerous calls we have received-not only from our residents, but also from supporters all over New Mexico who want us to continue to keep the logo," said Tijeras Mayor Gloria Chavez. "They feel, as we do, that this is part of the village's culture and history brought here by settlers centuries ago."
McCaleb explained that ADF intends to defend the village's seal vigorously. "This small, vibrant village has every right to express its history via the seal. To do otherwise would be flagrant historical revisionism and hostility toward faith," he said.
ADF is America's largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
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