(National Sentinel) Uncivil: Another Christmas season, another angry group of Leftists who are trying to ruin it for a majority of fellow citizens.
The Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists last week demanded the removal of a Christmas display featuring the Three Wise Men and a star because they claim it violates the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ clause in the Constitution.
The association has been involved in similar state cases in the past, station WZZM-TV reported.
Rather than simply allow the vast majority of residents of Newaygo, Mich., to enjoy their display, which has been a feature of the Christmas season for four decades, the MACRA is claiming that it is so offensive and illegal that it must be taken down.
More than 2,000 residents have reportedly signed an online petition to keep the display in place, reports noted.
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“Here it’s a tradition,” noted Stacie Johnson, one of the residents participating in Friday night’s Christmas walk, the TV station reported. “You can see it coming from White Cloud.”
“Majority are saying leave it alone,” said Johnson.
MACRA officials say it is a clear violation of the separation of church and state because it has been placed on a public school rooftop.
Newaygo Public Schools asked to remove wise men and star https://t.co/L9hswDKgTr pic.twitter.com/nyDgK6a0bg
— 13 On Your Side (@wzzm13) December 1, 2018
“It clearly conveys the message of the Christian nativity,” MACRA’s Mitch Kahle told the news outlet.
He claimed that his organization after receiving a complaint.
“We were approached by a complainant from the area,” Kahle told the TV station.
The station said that the school district is working with school officials to issue a response.
“And they have promised to get back to us by Dec. 7,” Kahle said. “You have a public school that’s promoting the story of the Christian Nativity and that’s not permitted under the Constitution.”
Actually, it is. The First Amendment’s religious expression clause doesn’t contain any observance limitations such as ‘public school buildings,’ regardless of how federal courts have ruled on the issue (remember — the Supreme Court once upheld the ‘legality’ of slavery).
Not only that, the First Amendment prohibits governments from mandating a certain religion; putting up a Christian display during an observed, recognized religious holiday isn’t mandating that anyone become a believer/follower of the Christian religion.
And what about the rights of residents who want the display kept up?
In any event, the locals in Newaygo have a Plan B. If a court forces the removal of the Three Wise Men display, it will likely be moved to a nearby hilltop, which is on private property.
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