By Travis Gettys
Enquirer contributor

LOUISVILLE - The co-founder of a company that makes religious-themed toy bears said fear of the American Civil Liberties Union is behind the bears being pulled from the shelves of some Louisville-area post offices.

The ACLU said it is not aware of the case.

U.S. Postal Service officials this week ordered branches to stop selling HolyBears, after complaints by an employee and a customer who threatened to contact the ACLU.

"This creates an atmosphere where you don't even have to call the ACLU - you just have to say those four letters," said Eric Carroll, co-founder of Houston-based HolyBears.

The company makes a line of plush toys bearing inscriptions celebrating life events and various lines of work. About one-fourth of the 800 post offices in the Kentuckiana District carried bears with the messages, "God Bless America," "God Bless Our Troops" and "God Bless Our Postal Workers."

According to a postal spokeswoman, the bears had been popular since they hit shelves in May, but they were pulled shortly after the complaints were lodged.

"We are prohibited, as a government entity, from engaging in conduct that has to do with a particular religion," said Valerie Hughes, spokeswoman for the Kentuckiana District.

Carroll isn't buying that argument, citing stamps with Muslim religious themes, and considers the ban on his products to be part of a larger cultural battle pitting Christian groups against the ACLU.

"The Christian faith shouldn't be totally outlawed," Carroll said.

"It's gone so far that somebody sees a 'God bless America' bear and is offended," he added.

Although the ACLU has fought some public displays of religious symbols, such as former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's crusade to place a Ten Commandments monument on government property, the organization is not involved with removing HolyBears from the shelves of Kentucky post offices.

"I'm not familiar with this situation at all," said ACLU staff attorney Lili Lutgens.

Some bears also came with cards with biblical passages on them, which post office officials felt may have violated regulations.

"The display and sale of those bears creates the impression that the postal service is favoring a particular religion," Hughes said.

While considering the ban, officials also discovered that HolyBears had not been granted a license required for private companies to sell merchandise on post office property, Hughes said.

Carroll said he has no plans to fight the action.