A Texas middle school nurse’s aide can put a poster of a Peanuts character quoting a Bible verse back up.
A Bell County judge granted a temporary injunction against the Killeen school district Thursday concerning the controversial poster, which allows the poster to go back up, according to multiple reports.
The decoration was a large sketch of Peanuts character Linus with a quote from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” that read, “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.”
The school’s principal said the Bible reference had to be removed or the poster — which was put by a nurse’s aide, Dedra Shannon — would have to be taken down. Killeen School Board members and district officials supported the principal’s decision, the Killeen Daily Herald reported, but religious nonprofit Texas Values and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton objected.
They argued the poster should have been protected under the state’s Merry Christmas Bill, which allows the exchange of holiday greetings in classrooms without risk of a lawsuit, as long as more than one religion and a secular symbol are included.
“Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups,” Paxton said, according to KWTX-TV in Central Texas. “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.”
The judge included in his ruling that the poster had to include the words, “Ms. Shannon’s Christmas Message” in letters as large as the Bible verse, KWTX-TV reported.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.