Chicago Tell the Cristmas Story

City of Chicago Guilty of Religious Discrimination for Shunning "The Nativity Story" at Christmas Festival

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2006—“To suggest that a movie about the birth of Jesus Christ should not be included in a Christmas festival is absurd. This transcends political correctness and centers squarely on religious bigotry.”
 —Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel

The City of Chicago does not have that Christmas spirit.  What city officials do have on their hands is considerable outrage over a decision to deny the movie "The Nativity Story" a sponsorship permit for a local Christmas festival.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), specializing in constitutional law, today called on the City of Chicago and festival organizers to reverse its decision and permit "The Nativity Story" movie to be a sponsor of a downtown Christmas festival. City officials pressured festival organizers to remove the movie as a sponsor because it said the movie about the birth of Jesus Christ might be offensive. The ACLJ said it will send a letter to city officials and festival organizers urging them to end their discriminatory practices and to permit the movie to serve as a sponsor for the festival.

"This is one of the most blatant forms of religious discrimination imaginable," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  "To suggest that a movie about the birth of Jesus Christ should not be included in a Christmas festival is absurd. This transcends political correctness and centers squarely on religious bigotry. The City of Chicago and festival organizers are exhibiting an intolerance that is offensive to Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The city and festival organizers must respect the First Amendment and put an end to the discriminatory practices. We call on the City of Chicago and festival organizers to reverse the decision and permit ‘The Nativity Story' to serve as a sponsor of the Christmas festival."

The ACLJ says the law is clear: The First Amendment-as well as state and local ordinances-protects freedom of religion and expression and prohibits religious discrimination.

This Christmas season, the ACLJ stands ready to provide legal assistance to ensure that the Christian message of Christmas is not targeted for exclusion. The ACLJ also has posted online a Christmas Resource Center that provides legal information concerning the celebration of Christmas for schools and local governments.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org.

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