Surrounded by sleigh bell-ringing Santa Claus impersonators, Gov.
Rick Perry on Thursday signed a law protecting Christmas and other
holiday celebrations in Texas public schools from legal challenges - but
also stressed that freedom of religion is not the same thing as freedom
from religion.
It was a serious tone for an otherwise fun bill-signing and should
bolster the governor's Christian conservative credentials before he
travels to Washington for the Faith & Freedom Coalition's "Road to
Majority" conference with the likes of tea party darlings and U.S. Sens.
Marco Rubio of Florida, Kentucky's Rand Paul and fellow Texan Ted Cruz.
Dubbed the "Merry Christmas" bill, the bipartisan measure sailed through the state House and Senate to reach Perry's desk.
It removes legal risks of saying "Merry Christmas" in schools while
also protecting traditional holiday symbols, such as a menorah or
nativity scene, so long as more than one religion and a secular symbol
are also reflected.
"I realize it's only June. But it's a good June and the holidays are
coming early this year," Perry said. " It's a shame that a bill like
this one I'm signing today is even required, but I'm glad that we're
standing up for religious freedom in this state. Religious freedom does
not mean freedom from religion."
During the last Sunday of the legislative session on May 26, Rep.
Donna Howard, an Austin Democrat, gave the Texas House's daily prayer.
"We are fortunate to live in a country where we have the freedom to
exercise the religion of our choosing while also being free from having
any religion imposed upon us," said Howard, herself a Unitarian
Universalist.
Her words prompted some conservative lawmakers to hold their own, separate prayer session moments later.
Perry did not mention Howard or her prayer, but invited to the
signing ceremony cheerleaders from Kountze High School in East Texas.
They were briefly barred by their school district from displaying
banners with bible verses at football games. Perry decried the ban and a
judge eventually ruled it violated students' free speech rights.
The governor said Thursday that the law was for believers like the
Kountze cheerleaders, who wore red "I cheer for Jesus" T-shirts.
The Faith & Freedom Coalition is a conservative, grass-roots
advocacy group whose conference runs through the weekend. Perry heads to
Washington on Friday.
The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Dwayne Bohac of Houston, said he
drafted it after discovering that his son's school erected a "holiday
tree" in December because any mention of Christmas could spark
litigation.
"We hope that this is a fire that will take off and become laws in
the other 49 states," said Bohac, who said his bill has attracted
national attention.
He added of Perry: "This is not a governor that shirks away from the
tough issues. And this should not be a tough issue, which is what's even
amazing about all this. But this is just political correctness that's
run a-muck and our brains have been completely fallen out as a result."
As Perry signed the bill, 10 members of a group called the Lone Star
Santas - with long white beards but wearing colorful summer garb rather
than their traditional red suits - cheered and rang bells. Standing
behind Perry's desk was Glenn Westberry, or "Santa G" from Houston, and
Rabbi Zev Johnson of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Center at the University of
Texas.
Both cheered the bill, with Westberry saying he has been "persona non
grata in Texas schools for too long." Johnson joked, "I thought this
was the 'Happy Hanukkah' law."
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