2009 nativity controversy news footage

In December of 2009, I worked alongside the ACLU to remove unconstitutional religious displays on Luzerne County Courthouse grounds which would later be erected in a more inclusive holiday display. Unfortunately, many of the news articles and videos — to my knowledge — were taken offline, but a friend sent me a recording of one […]

Responding to criticism of church/state lawsuits

Brief thoughts concerning criticism of church/state lawsuits… I was recently involved in a discussion with a humanist who portrayed lawsuits that organizations advocating for the separation of government and religion file as heavy-handed and antagonistic toward religious individuals. I’ll explain that lawsuits are often filed as a last resort and that religious individuals should not […]

New Luzerne County Courthouse holiday display

This year’s holiday display on Luzerne County Courthouse grounds includes both religious and secular symbols. Five years ago, in December of 2009, upon first becoming involved with separation of church and state issues, I contacted the American Civil Liberties Union’s Pennsylvania chapter when I had seen a Christian display prominently featured at the Luzerne County […]

Lamenting Luzerne County Courthouse’s religious display

Legal action may soon be needed to remedy a church/state violation of a religious holiday display on Luzerne County Courthouse grounds. In 2009, with the help of the ACLU, I publicly challenged the constitutionality of a standalone religious display — owned by and erected by government officials — on Luzerne County Courthouse grounds. I called […]

Religious displays to return to Luzerne County Courthouse in 2013?

One of my first (and successful) ventures into secular activism was in December of 2009 when I had filed a complaint concerning a nativity scene — prominently displayed on a corner with floodlights and no other holiday displays — at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Northeastern Pennsylvania [read more here]. The display was taken down and […]