EDMOND (AP) - Edmond Mayor Dan O'Neil says he plans to secure private funding for a bronze statue of Jesus Christ that a city art panel had approved for public funding. Advertisement

O'Neil said Wednesday that he is working with a private organization to buy out the city's portion of $3,900 that had been approved for the statue.

The Edmond Visual Arts Commission last month approved matching funds to help pay for the 26-inch-tall bronze statue titled "Come Unto Me."

O'Neil said the city still plans to erect the statue on a public sidewalk in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts, a downtown shop.

The mayor says he does not want the city to be in a position of fighting a lawsuit over the use of city funds to buy the statue.


Only, problem I have with this is, what if the buisness closes? Does the statue go with it? Also, if I have ever get to open my soda shop/cafe idea, can I have a statue out front if its privatly funded?

Oh wow... what a complete moron Mayor O'Neil is.

If the mayor is announcing that in his capacity as mayor, he's going to solicit private funding for a religious statue, how the hell does that skirt the establishment clause?

Is the statue going to be on private property? It doesn't appear to be since it's on a public sidewalk.

Is the sidewalk going to be open to any private individual wanting to build any sort of non-profane statue? Would I be able to build a Muslim statue or a Scientologist statue without the city getting in the way?

In order for all of this to work, the city's going to have to maintain its sidewalk as a public forum which means that pretty much anything will go insofar as shop owners wanting to erect statues.