Merry Christmas Bill is back for the second year as Indiana State Senator pursued for a law to take effect that would protect Christmas celebrations in schools and other places in the community. The Merry Christmas Bill was first offered in the 2014 legislative session and will again be proposed in 2015.
The Merry Christmas Bill became one of the issues to be set for next year legislative session after the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation just filed a suit over the nativity display outside the Franklin County courthouse.
Indiana residents felt totally dismayed by the legal act pursued by the "Wisconsin-based Atheist group" as called by Patriot Post to remove the nativity scene displayed by the Franklin County Courthouse every holiday season for the past 50 years.
Is there a bill that prohibits display of nativity scene? This was the cry of most people in Indiana. To protect the display of nativity, Sen. Jim Smith, R-Charlestown proposed a Merry Christmas Bill that extends the display of the nativity to the community and not only to the public schools.
Merry Christmas Bill would permit teachers to display not only nativity scene but also Christmas tree provided that there are also displays for other holiday celebration such as Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.
As Merry Christmas Bill was proposed for the second time, Smith reacted on the recent lawsuit, "We are as a nation allowing this to continue. We are certainly stealing Christmas from our children and from our culture."
The lawsuit filed by the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation claims that the nativity display at Franklin County Courthouse violated the clause under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Merry Christmas Bill was already presented in the 2014 legislative session but it was not tackled in the house. This time, Smith proposed Merry Christmas Bill after the heated argument of the ACLU and Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation.
Indiana was not the only state to propose the Merry Christmas Bill, under the National Conference of State Legislatures, eight states including Indiana had filed the same proposal.
As the Merry Christmas Bill is waiting to be discussed in the 2015 legislative session, residents of Indiana shared their reactions about those who don't appreciate the nativity scene.
"If people don't like the look of it, I think they can look the other way or don't look at all. It's been a tradition here for many, many years, and I hope it's for many more years. I think we deserve the right to put up what the community wants, and I don't think anybody else should tell us what to do."
As Merry Christmas Bill is still pending, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has not yet decided a ruling over the lawsuit. However, the ACLU and the Thomas More Society, who are bit understanding now concurred to retain the nativity scene but it will be removed a day following Christmas.
The nativity scene is life-size statues of Virgin Mary, Joseph and Jesus and the three wise men. It was erected in the Franklin County Courthouse for 50 years every holiday. It was always built by volunteers as funded by some private sponsors.
Let's see if Merry Christmas Bill will be tackled this time in the legislative session that is slated to begin on Jan. 6.
