City Council Overwhelmingly Rejects Proposal to Ban Christian Christmas After Residents Come Out in Force Against It

Teresa Neumann : Nov 25, 2007
Jean Torkelson?Rocky Mountain News

"An American take on I Corinthians 5:6: One bad apple will ruin the barrel, unless the barrel of apples has the sense to reject the rotted apple."

(Fort Collins, Colorado)?City Council members have rejected a proposal to make the Christmas displays in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, strictly secular. The proposal would have banned such things as colored lights and ornamental trees because they were deemed as "too suggestive of a religious Christmas."

The Council meeting lasted more than three hours, drew a crowd of 150 people, and featured 43 speakers.

According to a report in the Rocky Mountain News, speakers implored the council to honor Christmas as the holiday celebrated by a majority of local residents.

One speaker, Allen Ginsborg, made note of the fact that one member of the task force was an ACLU member, saying that he hoped in the future the council would not allow the organization to "hijack the legitimate process."

When Task force member Karen Schwartz responded by saying, "The American Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus," it reportedly drew loud laughter from the crowd.

The report also noted that it was feared that Fort Collins had opened itself up to national ridicule by its much-publicized attempt to eliminate tradition.

Said resident Jack Needy, "What you do here will echo across the United States."