After the successful complaints, the atheist said, “I don't believe government has the right to use tax dollars to show favoritism to any particular cult like Christianity. It's just wrong. That's why we have the Constitution . . .”
-- From "California County Orders Religious Symbols Removed" by Staff, Associated Press 12/22/09
County Administrator Chris Thomas issued the order Monday [to remove angels, stars and other religious symbols] to managers of all 26 county departments, saying it is not the government's role to endorse religion.
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From "Ban on angels, stars on county Christmas trees" by Derek Moore, The Press Democrat 12/21/09
The complaint was lodged by Irv Sutley of Santa Rosa, a 65-year-old disabled veteran who has a long history of protesting the use of religious symbols in government settings.
Sutley, an atheist and chairman of the county's central committee for the Peace and Freedom Party, said he spotted an angel on a tree in the lobby of the county Recorder's Office on Friday while gathering voter information for his bid for re-election in the June primary.
Sutley previously was successful in halting prayers at government meetings in several local cities and having Rohnert Park redesign its city emblem because it featured what appeared to be the Star of David and a church.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 ruled in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that government may celebrate Christmas in some form but not if it endorses Christian doctrine.
The court found that while a Christmas tree is not a religious symbol, it can take on that meaning if it is decorated with such symbols.
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