DELTONA, FLA. –An attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Florida to discredit a Christian legal firm backfired when a public records request revealed that the group many refer to as the “Anti Christian Liberties Union” colluded with a Florida mayor in a disingenuous effort to claim victory in a Deltona religious freedoms case.

   The incident centers around a “Black History Month” public exhibit at the Deltona City Hall in which African-American artist Lloyd Marcus’ paintings were first displayed and then pulled due to their supposed “religious themes.”

   Marcus, a Deltona resident, is a well-known artist, composer and entertainer and has served as President of the Deltona Arts and Historical Center. Marcus has even composed “Deltona” – a song that honors the city and has been played in the past at public events.

   In past years the City of Deltona has invited local citizens to join in the celebration of Black History Month by exhibiting relevant artwork.

   After first displaying Marcus’ paintings in the city hall lobby, the artwork was ordered removed by acting Deltona City Manager/City Attorney L. Roland Blossom and Deltona Mayor Dennis Muldur. Blossom and Muldur deemed the paintings “too religious” to be included in the display.

   Marcus, who grew up in his pastor father’s storefront church, has said he draws on that experience to inspire much of what he paints. In the Deltona case, the offending paintings feature subdued Christian themes. One depicts a festive New Orleans funeral that has three black people - a minister, a woman and another man wearing a baseball cap that reads "I Love Jesus." Another painting includes a partially covered Bible and church sign, while a third picture features a Christmas basket and another partially obscured Bible.

   When Marcus discovered that his work had been censored because of its religious content he contacted the Orlando, Florida based Liberty Counsel - a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.

   Liberty Counsel attorneys then sent two letters to Deltona city officials – one explaining the law in application to the Constitution and another requesting that Marcus’ artwork be returned to the exhibit immediately. Mulder and Blossom initially refused. But when Liberty Counsel filed suit in the matter the Mayor and City Manager backed down and relented following a hastily called emergency meeting of the City Commission.

   Marcus paintings were put back on display Feb. 20th and viewed throughout the remainder of the month.

   In a press release Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: "I am pleased that the City of Deltona did the right thing. Religious speech is not an orphan to the First Amendment. An important part of black history for Lloyd Marcus is the church where his father pastored a congregation from a storefront building. Black history cannot be separated from its religious history, and the First Amendment certainly does not require the two to be at odds.”

   Though the painting controversy was settled in February, the ACLU’s subterfuge wasn’t discovered until the following month when the Liberty Counsel filed a public records request with the City of Deltona for any correspondence relevant to the matter between the City and the ACLU.

   CCN-USA obtained a copy of an e-mail exchange between Mayor Muldur and George Griffin, President of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the ACLU. The e-mails are both revealing - and embarrassing - to the ACLU which tried to claim victory in a case in which they were soundly defeated.

   In the first correspondence Griffin suggests “a possible solution to the controversy” and a way for both the ACLU and the Mayor to “save face.” He advises Muldur to make a (fraudulent) statement saying he had contacted Florida ACLU legal director Randall Marshall as to whether the paintings violated the separation of church and state. Since they did not, Griffin tells the Mayor he could then say the City was “proud to display” the “beautiful, powerful paintings.”

   The ACLU’s Griffin concludes the e-mail by saying, “This would not only satisfy the artist, it would diffuse the lawsuit, but without capitulating to the Liberty Counsel.” Griffin adds a final slam at his (and the ACLU’s) rival, insisting that such a statement from the Mayor’s Office “would irritate the hell out of them if your decision was NOT based on their threats, but rather on legal advice from the ACLU.”

   Staver said a subsequent e-mail from Griffin to the Deltona mayor proves Muldur is a “card carrying member of the ACLU.” Griffin tells Muldur he “hopes to see him at the meeting Friday night…” a meeting in which Griffin says the Mayor would be the “perfect” special guest speaker to address the annual meeting of the Volusia/Flagler ACLU. “As one of the few ACLU members that hold office in our area and as mayor of the largest city in the county, I would be grateful if you would…say a few words about the importance of the ACLU.” Griffin signs off by telling Muldur he can then “finally get you that ACLU baseball cap!”

   A week later Muldur e-mails his regrets to Griffin saying he has to go out of town the evening of the meeting. But Mayor Muldur says to give the gathering his best and that, “The importance of the ACLU is immeasurable to me, my life, and my political philosophy.”

   Saying the Mayor “was in the ACLU’s pocket,” Staver told CCN-USA: “It’s no wonder why they tried to censor the paintings in the first place.”

   A clearly peeved Staver continued, “To me it shows the depths to which the ACLU will go. They were behind this whole censorship in the beginning. It’s their agenda, which ultimately results in this kind of censorship against religion.”

   When asked how Griffin’s petty phrase – “…irritate the hell out of the Liberty Counsel” made him feel, Staver laughed sardonically. “When I saw that I thought, ‘How low is that of the ACLU to do that just to try and make us upset.’ It didn’t work.”

   The fact is that in the state of Florida Staver’s Liberty Counsel has never lost a case against the ACLU “and I think that aggravates them.”

   The Liberty Counsel has successfully litigated against the ACLU in cases pertaining to rental of school facilities by church groups, the rights of students to engage in religious speech, and the list “goes on and on and on,” said Staver. “So they’re not real happy.”

   Court observers additionally believe a pending battle in the state’s Supreme Court over Florida’s marriage amendment will likely result in another favorable ruling for the Liberty Counsel, much to the chagrin of the ACLU and homosexual activists.

   In the Deltona case, Staver said the ACLU was directly attempting to influence city policy and that collusion was not to strong a word for what transpired. “No question it was a form of collusion between the Deltona mayor and the ACLU.”

   Staver said the ACLU has made a living through bullying city and school officials. “Sometimes they call the shots by simply intimidating people by threatening them with bogus litigation.”

   Staver said of the Marcus/Daytona showdown: “What this really illustrates is that whenever you’re threatened by the ACLU, if you simply give in, they’ll win by default even though they’re not right. But when you stand up against them, you can win.”

   According to Staver, a friend and confidant, the Rev. Falker told Marcus, ‘This is bigger than you and you’re paintings. You’ve got to stand up for this.’

   Said Staver, “He did stand up. He did win. And in the process he’s helped uncover the corruption that’s gone on in the city that nobody knew about.”

   Staver feels the incident has “definitely cost the mayor politically.” Muldur originally won office by only 3,900 votes in an election where only 13% of the electorate showed up to vote. Deltona has over 100,000 residents.

   Asked his honest, unabashed opinion of the ACLU Staver replied, ““They’re one of the worst organizations in America. They threaten our religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and our families.”

   Queried as to what can be done to thwart the ACLU’s objectives, Staver advised, “We can pass legislation on the Federal level that makes it more difficult to bring these Church/State claims (before the court). I think a simple piece of legislation could do that.”

   By amending the existing Federal statute Staver also recommended taking away ACLU’s attorney’s fees in frivolous Church/State claims, such as those involving public displays or expressions of religion. Such actions, Staver insisted, “would put a sizeable financial ding in the ACLU’s budget.”