[NYTr] "Good Will" Lacking in Holiday Church-State Separation Disputes

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Freedom From Religion Foundation
http://www.ffrf.org

USA Today's article, "Goodwill lacking in Yule disputes," includes
quotes from FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor, who notes being
called a "Grinch" is mild compared to the epithets FFRF has received.


USA Today - Dec 21, 2007
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-20-christmas-backlash_N.htm


Goodwill lacking in Yule disputes

By Wendy Koch

Christmas fervor is prompting more communities this year to buck
secular efforts to take down Christmas trees or Nativity scenes.

Some removed the symbols from public property because of complaints
about legality, then later put them back. Missouri State University in
Springfield re-erected a Christmas tree after a public outcry about its
removal, and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland ordered two state parks to
restore Nativity scenes.

Both sides of the issue say conflict has intensified.

"It's more abrasive this year," says Barry Lynn, executive director of
Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He says the
religious right has pushed for more government displays of religious
symbols.

"More and more people are feeling empowered" to protest the absence of
Christian symbols, says Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League,
an advocacy group. "There's a change in attitude." He says more than
95% of Americans celebrate Christmas.

Among the flash points:

* In Green Bay, Wis., Mayor Jim Schmitt cast a tie-breaking vote in the
City Council on Wednesday to keep a Nativity scene along with a Santa
Claus, reindeer and two Christmas trees on the roof of City Hall. The
council put on hold requests for other symbols, including an unadorned,
aluminum pole associated with Festivus, a non-denominational holiday
that originated on the TV sitcom Seinfeld. 

* The Wisconsin Legislature voted to rename the balsam fir in the
Capitol a "Christmas tree." It had become a "holiday tree" in 1985.
"Call it what it is," Rep. Marlin Schneider says, the measure's
sponsor. "It's like calling the menorah the 'holiday candlestick
holder.' " The state Senate has not voted. 

* In Fort Collins, Colo., the City Council rejected a task force's
suggestion that holiday decorations be secular only. "People just went
nuts about that," Larimer County Manager Frank Lancaster says. 

* In Columbiana, Ala., Mayor Allan Lowe countered a complaint about the
city's Nativity scene with a new policy that allows seasonal displays
on public property. He has asked lawyers to review it.

"I've had nothing but positive support," he says. "We want to celebrate
Christmas." In Hyde Park, N.Y., a Jewish group rescinded its request to
remove a Nativity scene after residents complained, says Pompey
Delafield, a town supervisor. "Few things are as emotional as that." He
welcomed a Jewish menorah and a Muslim crescent moon and star to the
display on the Town Hall lawn.

"There's a terrible disrespect for the separation of church and state,"
says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion
Foundation, which has opposed crèches on government property.

"The state shouldn't have a Christmas anything," Gaylor says. "It's not
supposed to observe religious holidays."

The Supreme Court has ruled that a Nativity scene cannot stand by
itself on public property.

Gaylor says she has received e-mails calling her "horrible" names. She
adds: " 'Grinch' would be mild.' "