A New Hampshire Judge Dismisses a Lawsuit Over a Bible Display
A judge agreed to dismiss a nearly 3-year-old lawsuit Wednesday over a Bible displayed on a table at a New Hampshire veterans hospital after the plaintiffs’ lawyer proposed a separate display and sought to work with the hospital.
Two U.S. Air Force veterans filed the lawsuit in federal court in 2019 against the Manchester VA Medical Center director, saying the Bible’s inclusion on a “missing man” table near the entrance honoring fallen or missing veterans and prisoners of war is a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The case went to mediation.
“One of the focuses was us putting up our own table,” attorney Lawrence Vogelman, who represents the veterans, said at a hearing in requesting the dismissal. He said Veterans Affairs has a specific procedure for requesting a table and would negotiate the details with the hospital’s lawyers in an effort to avoid any more litigation.
