On Dec. 1, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors spared a little known group of volunteers further ridicule by overturning the group’s recent decision to ban the placement of displays like Christmas trees, nativity scenes and menorahs on the grounds of the county courthouse in Leesburg.
“We want the community to come together in a great gathering spot that is Leesburg,” Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said at a Dec. 1 meeting. “We want to have an open access and equal access policy … Not everyone will agree with all the symbols. But we have to ensure there is equal access for everyone.”
The reversal was not unanimous. Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who cast the lone no vote, said the reversal could open the grounds up to more than simple holiday décor.
“I am concerned this motion will turn the courthouse grounds into a public circus,” he said.
The Courthouse Grounds and Facilities Task Force made its ruling to ban displays at a meeting on Nov. 23—and considering the timing of decision, reaction was swift, vocal and mass-producing.
On Monday night, a large group of protesters braved the cold rain and descended on Leesburg to demand that the Board of Supervisors overturn the ban.
“I’m here because I’m angry. I’m very angry that a [task force] could overrule the will of the people,” Lansdowne’s Joan Gorman told supervisors.
An emotional Stanley Caulkins, a longtime Leesburg business owner, held up a dollar bill to the board to show his opposition. “In God We Trust,” he said as his voice cracked. “It says it right there on my money.”
Meanwhile, as of Monday night, an online petition, www.ipetitions.com/petition/leesburgnativity/index.html, had the signatures of nearly 1,000 people opposed to the ban.
“What else can they take away?” one person wrote online. “Christ is the reason for this season!”
Another wrote: “This is so ridiculous! Come on Loudoun, keep with tradition! Screw political correctness!”
One of the people who helped organize the charge against the ban was Leesburg Town Council member Ken Reid.
“I’m disappointed,” he said in an interview before the board’s reversal. “It was a decision that was made without any public input … if the county does not reverse this, it will look like a Grinch.”
Created by the board in 2000, the task force is composed of eight members who meet monthly, and collectively act as the property manager of the grounds.
County official Paul Brown, who has worked with the task force in the past, said its members acknowledged the timing of the new policy was poor, but it had nothing to do with the holidays or being politically correct. He said that while members did cite state law prohibiting displays on courthouse grounds, the main reason behind the ban was public safety, as a display could topple over, injuring someone. Also, he said, the courthouse does not have enough staff on hand to monitor the displays.
“It’s a resource issue,” he said.
For years, the courthouse grounds have been the site of holiday displays. A nativity has been erected on the grounds for the past 20 years. Last year, a Jewish menorah was also placed there.
Phil Rusciolelli, of the Rotary Club of Leesburg, said the club has placed a Christmas tree on the grounds each year for the last half-century. He said displays should be allowed since the grounds are public property. “All we are seeking is good government," he said before Tuesday's reversal.
What the ban reversal came down to, according to Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D-Sugarland Run), was that the grounds belong to all residents, regardless of faith.
“The public has the right to use that property for religions display,” she said. “We may not agree with all displays, but being able to display them is a fundamental principal we should never walk away from.”
Great!
Can't wait to see Barbara Munsey, Supe Delgaudio, etc. voicing their support when Muslims, Pagans, Wickens, etc are turned away from exercising the same "right."