Forest Service forbids 'religious themes' on 5,000 decorations recognizing holiday

The U.S. Forest Service has banned the name of Jesus from decorations being assembled by children in Arizona for a blue spruce from the state that will become the Capitol Christmas Tree this year, and a legal firm is challenging the censorship. "Banning Christmas from the Capitol Christmas tree is just absurd. Christian students shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their religious beliefs," said Jonathan Scruggs, litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. "The First Amendment does not allow government officials to exclude schoolchildren's ornaments for the capitol's Christmas tree merely because they communicate a religious viewpoint," he said yesterday. The organization has sent a letter to state and federal officials, including Arizona Gov. Janie Brewer, who are supervising the program, calling on them to stop enforcement of the prohibition...read more