Atheist Flag Flies Over Ten Commandments Monument in NH Town Once Again
By Hemant Mehta, January 3, 2019

In 2016, the city of Somersworth, New Hampshire replaced a vandalized Ten Commandments monument with a brand new one, opening the door to future lawsuits over the blatant promotion of Christianity. Last winter, though, that monument was literally overshadowed by an atheist flag from the Freedom From Religious Foundation looming over it.

That flag, a blue rectangle with the atheist A on it, is now up once again in the “Citizens Place” traffic island thanks to resident Richard Gagnon.

Gagnon said the raising of the flag is “a celebration of free thought.”

“It shows the city’s diversity,” Gagnon said. “In their commitment to diversity, the city said diversity includes everybody, including non-believers.”

To his credit, Mayor Dana Hilliard supports the move and echoed the very inclusive message.

“Richard’s an atheist, he doesn’t believe in God, and I do — so what?” Hilliard said. “If you remove the flag, who’s going to know who’s an atheist and who isn’t? We’re both human beings, and we’re here to build a community we can all be proud of.”

Good on him for not being an obstacle to free expression of someone else’s beliefs.