It’s amazing that we actually need laws to protect free speech
(Ft Worth Star Telegram) This is Texas.
So you can safely toss the generic holiday greetings out the door.
As students head into the final week before “winter break†and plan for their “winter parties†state lawmakers are reminding residents that they are free to use the greeting of their choice — “Merry Christmas,†“Happy Hanukkah†or “Happy holidays,†if you must.
“Our teachers and students are able to celebrate the upcoming holiday season without fear of retribution or punishment,†said Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, who last year helped pass the Merry Christmas law.
The Legislature wanted to make sure that students can exchange traditional holiday greetings — and display Christmas trees, menorahs and Nativity scenes at school as long as more than one religion and a secular symbol are included — without fear of sparking a lawsuit.
The response from the ACLU is a hoot
“I think it’s stupid,†said Terri Burke, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas. “There is no ‘war on Christmas.’ There’s no need for this law.
“It is just such frivolity,†she said. “There are important things for the Legislature to work on, and this isn’t it.â€
Yet, the ACLU is quite often involved in threatening lawsuits over Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and the like.
People have seemed to become afraid to give a traditional Christmas greeting over the past 20 years. Companies often put up generic wintery scenes. They freak out over Santa and Frosty and Rudolph in schools. They attempt to make kids feel bad over daring to say Merry Christmas. Yet, these same people are more than happy to get their paid day off, being that Christmas is a federal holiday.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
