February 5, 2001
O'Hair may be dead, but will the
phony FCC petition live on?
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___AUSTIN--Authorities are almost certain they have found the dismembered remains of atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair and two relatives missing since September 1995.
___The discovery could be the final chapter in a bizarre life that was the focus of international media attention since 1960, when O'Hair sued the Baltimore school district to stop school-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in public schools.
___Through that case, which eventually was heard by the United States Supreme Court, and her leadership of the American Atheists organization, O'Hair gained notoriety as one of the most reviled and ridiculed figures in public life. Her name became synonymous with atheism.
___Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox said he hopes confirmation of O'Hair's death will close the books on another legacy wrongly associated with her name.
___"For years, religious newspapers like the Baptist Standard have been deluged with letters and calls from well-intentioned Christians who believe Madalyn Murray O'Hair is attempting to get religious broadcasting banned from the nation's airwaves. There never has been any truth to this rumor, but it has been a rumor that will not die."
___The rumor, which originally circulated widely through chain letters, in recent years has gained renewed life via the Internet. The rumor alleges that O'Hair has filed a petition, RM 2493, with the Federal Communications Commission seeking to ban all religious broadcasting.
___"Please let this put an end to the propaganda that has wasted countless hours of effort by well-intentioned but misinformed Christians," Knox urged. "Madalyn Murray O'Hair is dead. Dead people cannot file petitions with the FCC. So, next time you see this phony information about RM 2493 floating around in a chain letter or an e-mail, please remind people that is has no merit.
___"Let's bury this distraction along with Ms. O'Hair," he urged.
___Authorities believe O'Hair and her son Jon Garth Murray and granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair were kidnapped in 1995 as part of an extortion scheme led by a former employee of O'Hair's organization. Three skeletons believed to belong to O'Hair and her two family members were found on a ranch in remote Real County Jan. 27.
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