“Don’t mess with Charlie
Brown, don’t mess with the Baby Jesus and don’t mess with the Lone Star
State’s Merry Christmas law.” – Todd Starnes
(Killeen, TX) — [ http://www.toddstarnes.com/column/judge-orders-school-to-res tore-charlie-brown-christmas-decorations - Reprinted with permission of Todd Starnes ]
A Texas school district learned a very important lesson Thursday: don’t
mess with Charlie Brown, don’t mess with the Baby Jesus and don’t mess
with the Lone Star State’s Merry Christmas law. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia.org)
Judge
Jack Jones issued a temporary restraining order against the Killeen
Independent School District. The district had backed a principal’s
decision to remove a Christmas poster that referenced a poignant scene
in the beloved holiday cartoon, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Dedra Shannon, an aide in Patterson Middle School’s nurses office,
created the door-length poster - featuring Linus, a scrawny tree, and
dialogue explaining the true meaning of Christmas.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is
Christ the Lord. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,”
Linus said.
Dedra
Shannon’s poster was well received among the staff and students – but a
few days later she was told by the principal that the decorations had
to come down because non-Christian students might be offended or feel
uncomfortable. (Photo Credit: Flickr.com)
Her father, a local minister, contacted me and the following day I
wrote a story about the sad state of affairs at Patterson Middle School.
“Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and Holiday season
in the manner of their choosing,” the district wrote in a statement.
“However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs
on students.”
Judge Jones said the poster must include the words: “Ms. Shannon’s holiday message,” the Killeen Daily Herald News reports..
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the judge’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order.
“Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday
tradition of sorts among certain groups,” Paxton said in a statement. “I
am glad to see that the court broke through the Left’s rhetorical fog
and recognized that a commitment to diversity means protecting
everyone’s individual religious expression.”
Preach it, Mr. Attorney General! Amen!
Paxton said the school district’s decision to affirm the banning of
the poster violated the Merry Christmas law. That law, passed in 2013,
stipulates that no school official in Texas can silence a Biblical
reference to Christmas. God bless Texas!
Johnston Saenz, the president of Texas Values, represented Ms. Shannon in court. He was grateful for the judge’s decision.
“Nothing says ‘Merry Christmas’ like a court victory for religious
freedom in December in public schools,” Saenz said in a statement.
He called Ms. Shannon a “brave and faithful woman.”
“This scenario is exactly why the Merry Christmas law was written -
to protect teachers, staff and students in their expression of the
Christmas season,” he said.
Well done, Ms. Shannon. Well done, Mr. Saenz. Well done, Attorney
General Paxton. Well done, Judge Jones. And well done, good readers! I
suspect your emails and telephone calls had a lot to do with drawing
attention to this very important matter.
Merry Christmas, America!
Todd Starnes