Cite as: 515 U. S. 753 (1995)
Opinion of the Court
Justice Scalia announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, and III, and an opinion with respect to Part IV, in which The Chief Justice, Justice Kennedy, and Justice Thomas join.
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, made binding upon the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides that government "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." The question in this case is whether a State violates the Establishment Clause when, pursuant to a religiously neutral state policy, it permits a private party to display an unattended religious symbol in a traditional public forum located next to its seat of government.
I
Capitol Square is a 10-acre, state-owned plaza surrounding the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. For over a century the square has been used for public speeches, gatherings, and festivals advocating and celebrating a variety of causes, both secular and religious. Ohio Admin. Code Ann. § 128-4- 02(A) (1994) makes the square available "for use by the public . . . for free discussion of public questions, or for activities of a broad public purpose," and Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 105.41 (1994), gives the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (Board) responsibility for regulating public access. To use the square, a group must simply fill out an official application
ter E. Carson, Robert W. Nixon, and Rolland Truman; for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., by Robert R. Tiernan; and for the American Jewish Congress et al. by Marvin E. Frankel, Alan R. Friedman, Richard K. Milin, Marc D. Stern, Lois C. Waldman, and Steve Freeman.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Center for Law & Justice by Jay Alan Sekulow, James M. Henderson, Sr., and Keith A. Fournier; for the Chabad House of Western Michigan, Inc., et al. by Nathan Lewin; for the Christian Legal Society by Thomas C. Berg, Steven T. McFarland, Samuel B. Casey, Gregory S. Baylor, and Kimberlee Wood Colby; for the Knights of Columbus Council 2961 et al. by Kevin J. Hasson; and for Liberty Counsel by Mathew D. Staver.
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