Archive for February 3rd, 2008

MMOH Bvd?

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10248489Acting greats Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda have Omaha streets named in their honor.So does slain civil rights leader Malcolm X.Commemorative street signs also bear the names of more than a few neighborhood activists.An Omaha man wants to add another name to the list, but the moniker likely won’t instantly ring a bell with most people.Raymond Zbylut has asked the city to erect a commemorative street sign for Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the founder of American Atheists and the plaintiff in the 1960s U.S. Supreme Court case that ended daily prayer in public schools.Murray O’Hair, who was murdered in 1995, does not have specific ties to Omaha, but Zbylut said she deserves to be commemorated for her efforts to protect the rights of Americans who don’t believe in God.”It’s about time that godless Americans have someone who has been beneficial to the movement brought to the surface,” said Zbylut, a self-professed atheist. Zbylut wants a commemorative street sign for O’Hair on 108th Street between Bedford Avenue and West Maple Road, in part because he lives nearby.The City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday. If approved, a commemorative sign would be put up, but the name of the street would remain 108th.Convincing the council to approve a commemorative street sign for a leader of the atheist movement will likely be a tough sell for Zbylut. The council begins its weekly meetings with an invocation, and each of the seven members has delivered the opening prayer at some point.”I’m going to need more information about this,” Council President Dan Welch said Friday. “Based on what I know, I would be strongly inclined to vote against it.”Councilman Chuck Sigerson, who represents the area where the proposed sign would go, said he has several objections to the plan. One is that religion or lack of religion should not be the basis for street commemorations.”We have to be careful when it comes to something like this,” he said. “We try to keep religion out of it.”Sigerson said he would listen to Zbylut’s arguments Tuesday, but he would not vote for the Murray O’Hair sign.Ellen Johnson, the leader of American Atheists, said she isn’t optimistic that Omaha will go forward with a commemoration of Murray O’Hair. No other city has named a public street or facility for her, but Johnson said she hopes the idea will at least spark serious discussion.”(Murray O’Hair’s lawsuit) opened the nation’s public schools to all our children, and that’s a wonderful thing,” Johnson said. “Lesser people have had streets and ballparks named after them.”Zbylut said he’s not just trying to spark a discussion ? he wants the sign to go up.