Hate Group Wants Anti-Christmas Sign; Washing Gov. Must Decide
By Gazette Staff Writer — Friday, December 12th, 2008

The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group, has asked Washington Governor Chris Gregoire for permission to display an anti-Christmas sign next to the nativity scene in the Capitol building. The sign, “Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell,” would also appear next to an atheist sign sponsored by the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“Gov. Gregoire is responsible for this mess. Having first acceded to the requests of atheists to attack Christmas, she is now confronted with the likes of the Westboro Baptist Church, a viciously anti-American, anti-Catholic and anti-gay group. There is a way to deal with this situation in a manner that is legally acceptable and morally defensible, but neither the Washington governor, nor her lawyers, have figured it out.

“The First Amendment right to freedom of speech has always been conditioned on time, place and manner. That is why gays who sought to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston and New York—for the purpose of countering the message of the parade—lost in the courts in the 1990s. In the Boston case, Justice David Souter, writing for a unanimous court, said, ‘The speaker has the right to tailor the speech’ and the law ‘is not free to interfere with speech for no better reason than promoting an approved message or discouraging a disfavored one.’

“In other words, hate groups have a First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but they have no right to set the time and place. Moreover, freedom of speech is meaningless unless it can prevail unobstructed by attempts to stifle it. To put it differently, Gov. Gregoire should have allowed the atheist group to display its sign in a different location, or at a different time, but not directly next to the nativity scene at Christmastime. Had she done so, she would be able to treat the Westboro Baptist bigots the same way.

“We have moved from censoring nativity scenes to neutering them. That the government was operative in both is particularly appalling.”

"Hate Group Wants

Submitted by ricardoexterp on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 12:42am.

"Hate Group Wants Anti-Christmas Sign"

Where is the world heading to these days. What are people tending to achieve?

"The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group, has asked Washington Governor Chris Gregoire for permission to display an anti-Christmas sign next to the nativity scene in the Capitol building. The sign, “Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell,” would also appear next to an atheist sign sponsored by the Freedom from Religion Foundation."

What? Let's think again about this... So weird...

Best Regards
-Ricardo Kryvorgio

Richard...(ricardoexterp), I

Submitted by Centurion on Sun, 02/08/2009 - 1:07pm.

Richard...(ricardoexterp), I saw this article back in December...funny through, I missed comment on it.

I do not know the answers to the problems in the world; none of us do, I guess. I my own small way, I feel that the laws that established this country (the USA) back in 1774, 75, and 76, and signed into law by Congress in July 1776 were thus always revamped, addendum-ed, revised, superseded and homogenized into an "as-you-go" transition of laws based upon the originals over time. Of course, other countries did the same. Most countries of the world are older than the US happens to be, (the good-old USA now 303 years old) so that translates into foreign cultures being more established. The US was unique, in that it had numerous immigrants entering the US, mostly from European countries in the late 1800's and early 1900's, to "fill up" necessary quotas of people to form our residential, commercial, and manufacturing-industrial centers in the states.

Saying that, the laws back in 1776 that had been established, did not "keep up with the times" as the country grew (per se). In other words laws of 1776 do not comply, nor could be acceptable to today's culture. It has become so very popularized for certain groups of like-minded folks to cause protests that are meaningless simply due to freedoms that the US laws provide. It escalates from there. We all know Santa Claus is fictitious; except for Saint Nicholas, of tradition. Santa and St. Nicholas have nothing to do with The Nativity. Christmas in itself; you can form you own opinions on what this has become set apart from the real "Christmas" meaning.

Freedom of Religion is one item in itself. Laws can allow or prevent it, depending on how it is interpreted. Depending on how it is presented. Depending on how religion enters into our personal lives, (and current government) and if, as most of us do, hold varied religions beliefs apart from others, it also boils down to "don't give me your version of God and I won't give you my version of God". Then, the current laws allow you to give it to me anyway, and another law that prevents you from giving it to me. Confused yet...try being a lawyer. Excuse me...I've got to go say my morning prayers at my home rock Grotto on my prayer rug for an hour...we can chant, dance around, speak in tongues and all that good stuff...'wanna join me?

John K