Cuccinelli says religious displays on public property are OK

RICHMOND

Local governments in Virginia are free to permit religious and holiday displays on public property so long as the venue provides equal opportunity to various faith traditions and messages, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli concludes in a new legal opinion.

The opinion was requested by Del. Bob Marshall, a Prince William County Republican, and relates to an ongoing debate in Loudoun County over the use of county courthouse grounds for holiday displays.

The fracas there began with a decision last year by a county commission to ban public displays at the site. The county then rejected a request from a group that wanted to place a Christmas tree there.

County supervisors subsequently overturned the commission's decision and adopted a policy governing displays at the courthouse. Now, those rules are up for review after officials were confronted with public concerns about some of the messages contained in the displays.

Marshall sought Cuccinelli's view on whether Loudoun County must prohibit religious and secular holiday displays on public property. No, Cuccinelli said.

"Where the county already has provided a public forum or limited public forum, it will usually lack the right to exclude a religious display of reasonable duration based solely upon content," Cuccinelli wrote, adding that even in the absence of a prior forum the county "is free to create a nondiscriminatory forum for recognition of holidays, including Christmas, it if makes clear that the county itself is not communicating a religious message."

That interpretation is seconded by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, a group not often aligned with the attorney general on legal questions.

"The law on this is well established and Cuccinelli has made a fairly accurate statement of what the law is," observed ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis.

"The dilemma for local governments is that with the First Amendment it's all or nothing," Willis added. "So they either have to welcome all expression, which probably means they're going to be allowing some expression they don't like, or they don't allow any of it."

In Norfolk, the city festoons the tree in front of City Hall with lights but no religious displays. Virginia Beach has provided space for public displays at Mount Trashmore that have included both a Christmas tree and a menorah.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com