Courthouse Display: Imbibing Holiday Spirits?

Image via Wikipedia'Tis the season for trying to avoid offending religions while celebrating the holidays, as evidenced by an item posted by the ABA Journal Law News Now blog (www.abajournal.com).

The Loudoun (Va.) County Board of Supervisors spent more than a year wrestling with the issue of holiday displays before deciding on a first-come, first-served permit policy allowing for 10 displays.  The resulting holiday display outside the Leesburg, Va., courthouse includes a letter written by an atheist urging civility and kindness, a Star Wars display featuring Luke Skywalker (based on his post-Lucas career trajectory, Mark Hamill may actually be standing there), and a Christmas tree and three manger scenes--how did those get in there?

 The Commonwealth's Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, weighed in with an opinion that courthouse grounds are suitable for religious displays. All the permits were granted before Charlie Brown arrived with his small tree. Good Grief!