Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412160063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
The Warren County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 this week to allow a woman to erect the creche outside the courthouse in Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley.
``It always meant a lot to me to see it there,'' said Dorothy Sullivan of Front Royal. She contacted Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice after her request to put the religious display on public property was denied.
The center, which Robertson established as a conservative alternative to the American Civil Liberties Union, threatened to sue.
``Our job is to make sure that those we call the political-correctness grinches do not go around stealing the true symbol of Christmas,'' said Jay Sekulow, head of the Virginia Beach-based center.
Sullivan erected a display outside the courthouse Thursday. The last time a nativity scene appeared there was 25 years ago, Sekulow said.
In September, Sullivan sought permission to place a creche at the courthouse. When she was turned down, the center wrote a letter to county officials saying her request amounted to a free-speech issue, Sekulow said.
The Supreme Court has ruled that government agencies can't sponsor religious activities, Sekulow said, but that does not mean private citizens can't express religious beliefs on public property.
Douglas Napier, the Warren County lawyer, said the Board of Supervisors had taken the view in the past that such displays violate the First Amendment's protection against state-sponsored religion. But recent court rulings have allowed religious displays in areas designated for public forums, he said, and the courthouse lawn is such an area.
``It's been used by many different secular groups for speeches, political rallies,'' Napier said. ``Bands have played music, what have you.''
Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia ACLU, said if the county wants to declare the courthouse lawn a public forum, officials need to set up criteria for applications to use the space and what to do when conflicts arise.
``What if some other group wants to use the space at this time next year?'' Willis asked. ``The real question comes when some individual or group wants to use the lawn for a purpose that the county is opposed to.''
Willis said the state ACLU would send its concerns in a letter to county supervisors.
by CNB