A Florida sheriff says he will continue preaching while wearing his uniform even if an atheist group follows through with a threat to sue him.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter last week to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd saying that wearing his uniform or identifying himself as sheriff while delivering religious messages violates the First Amendment,
the Orlando Sentinel reports.
"I respond to every request, and whatever that request is that's the sermon or the speech that I give," Judd said Monday on Fox News Channel's
"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
He said he wears his uniform whether the message he is giving is secular or religious.
The people who ask him to speak call his office to make the request specifically for the sheriff, he said. "And that's exactly what I do. Now, I have got this group that's trying to tell me what clothes to wear and how I have to be introduced."
Judd said he simply wears his work clothes to the speaking engagements, so no one should be surprised.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation said that by wearing his uniform while giving Christian messages he gives the appearance that the country endorses Christianity and "sends a message of exclusion," according to the Sentinel.
Judd told Fox he won't be deterred by a lawsuit.
"Do you know I love the courts? The courts have always proven to do the right things in my circumstance," he said. "So, I have no control over whether they sue me or not. But I certainly am not going to change what I do."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.