According to Mayor Kervin Qualls of Jay, the nativity scene previously displayed near city hall’s entrance has appeared there for 38 years and he has never had one complaint until recently. Qualls said a letter sent to the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) led to its removal. However, Jay’s attorney Steve Cozart, with Kubicki and Draper, said the city found a solution by donating the nativity to the North Santa Rosa Ministerial Association. It now stands in what Qualls said is a more visible location next to a Christmas tree jointly owned by the city and the Jay Chamber of Commerce at the corner of Highway 4 and Commerce Street. The nativity better serves to donate it where it’s more visible, according to Qualls.
Cozart said the cost to the city to fight removing the nativity could cost $10 to $15 thousand bare minimum, up to $70 thousand with full discovery. As far as the nativity itself, he said, “We looked at it as having no monetary value,” so the city donated rather than try to sell it.
The specific problem had to do with two things, according to Qualls, the nativity’s proximity to Jay City Hall’s entrance, and the lack of secular displays nearby.
“You cannot have a nativity on its own,” Qualls said. He said he looked to see if adding more Christmas décor near the display would help, but the fact it would remain by the entrance was still a problem.
Cozart said the basic idea is if a city has a general winter scene displayed, religious symbols may be included. However, he said they may not be the only decoration. It has to take into account secular imagery, too, he said. Cozart cited the 1984 case, Lynch v. Donnelly. According to the syllabus of the case found at supreme.justia.com, the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island annually erected a Christmas display in a park owned by a nonprofit organization. The display included a nativity scene among other secular decorations, a part of the display for 40 years. Challengers to the city’s display won legal battles until the Supreme Court heard the case. An excerpt of Justice Berger’s opinion says, “The display is sponsored by the city to celebrate the Holiday recognized by Congress and national tradition and to depict the origins of that Holiday; these are legitimate secular purposes.”
The Federal Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit Court ruled on a similar situation last year involving the FFRF. Justice Jeffrey Sutton, in the case, Freedom from Religion Foundation versus City of Warren, Michigan, said in his opinion, “The nativity scene, when accompanied by this collection of secular and seasonal symbols, does not amount to an establishment of religion or for that matter an impermissible endorsement of it.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Jay nativity moved from city hall after 38 year tradition