ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Easter Bunny has been sent packing at St. Paul City Hall.
A toy rabbit, pastel-colored eggs and a sign with the words "Happy Easter" were removed from the lobby of the City Council offices, because of concerns they might offend non-Christians.
A council secretary had put up the decorations. They were not bought with city money.
St. Paul's human rights director, Tyrone Terrill, asked that the decorations be removed, saying they could be offensive to non-Christians.
But City Council member Dave Thune says removing the decorations went too far, and he wonders why they can't celebrate spring with "bunnies and fake grass."
what does the easter bunny have to do with Christianity?
classicman2
03-23-06, 10:28 AM
I'm glad they did it.
I say 'do away with this pagan holiday.'
It's clearly a violation of the Establishment Clause.
Geofferson
03-23-06, 10:30 AM
As a resident of Mpls/St. Paul...it truly is the land of the easily offended.
classicman2
03-23-06, 10:34 AM
Serious question: What in the hell does a bunny rabbit have to do with what is supposed to be a signficant Christian holiday?
Y2K Falcon
03-23-06, 10:35 AM
Should they be more offended by the fact that their city hall is named after a religious icon? :hscratch:
VinVega
03-23-06, 10:41 AM
Serious question: What in the hell does a bunny rabbit have to do with what is supposed to be a signficant Christian holiday?
The same thing a pagan Christmas tree has to do with Jesus' birth. It's all Christian I tell you! harumpf! :grunt:
bhk
03-23-06, 10:44 AM
:lol:
That's St. Paul, a shrine to brokeback mountain probably would have had a better chance of being kept.
Geofferson
03-23-06, 10:53 AM
Should they be more offended by the fact that their city hall is named after a religious icon? :hscratch:
I posed the same question about Los Angeles when there was a huge effort to remove a tiny Christian cross from a county seal.
kvrdave
03-23-06, 11:32 AM
They dare to take away the most sacred symbol of Christianity? Oh we will have our rabbit back, just you wait.
JasonF
03-23-06, 11:40 AM
In related news, the City of St. Paul has also voted to change the name of the city to Paul.
I'm about as pro-Wall-of-Separation as you can get, and as far as I'm concerned, as long as 1) no city money was spent on the display, and 2) any similarly situated employee would be allowed to put up a reasonably similar display in the lobby, then I have no problem with it. Now, if they have a policy that, as applied, allows Christian displays but rejects non-Christian displays, then I have a problem.
OldDude
03-23-06, 01:11 PM
Serious question: What in the hell does a bunny rabbit have to do with what is supposed to be a signficant Christian holiday?
Agreed. The bunny helps put the secular in Easter.
Now a scene of Jesus rising from the dead might erode the separation of church and state, but the rabbit doesn't.
We have a mall that has a "Spring Bunny" so no one is offended, and children of all faiths are welcome to sit on his lap and ask for spring loot.
Gallant Pig
03-23-06, 01:22 PM
:lol:
That's <b>St. Paul</b>, a shrine to brokeback mountain probably would have had a better chance of being kept.
Buy: