Just in time for America’s birthday, Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered a fire-breathing reminder of the role religion plays in the core of what makes America special as she rejected a liberal group’s demand that she remove a chalk drawing of a cross from a walkway outside of the governor’s mansion.
Earlier this week, Sanders posted a picture of the cross, which is set against a drawing of a stained-glass window, on Instagram.
“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!” she wrote.
That sparked a scolding letter from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“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 wrote.
“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,” the group wrote, calling for the artwork to be removed.
Sanders singed Twitter with her reply.
“I have received your letter and my answer is no,” Sanders wrote in her post.
“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.”
Dear @americansunited,
She attached the letter she sent, in which she said she will not retreat from her beliefs, reminding the group that faith remains an integral part of freedom.
“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,” Sanders wrote.
“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.
The former White House press secretary told the group what happens when anyone tries to bully her.
“In Arkansas, we stand up to bullying liberals. We won’t let you power-wash our kids’ chalk drawings off our front steps. We won’t let you tear down Christmas decorations and stomp our traditions into the dirt. We don’t live our lives in fear of strongly worded letters coming down from Washington,” she wrote.
Sanders further bristled at the group’s depiction of people of faith.
“I am offended by your implication that just because I am a Christian, I am a bigot. All people, of all faiths, are welcome in our state. All Arkansans are welcome in the Governor’s Mansion.
“We are all citizens of this same great country — one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” she wrote.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.