Santa Rosa, USA - Sonoma County Officials have removed all angels and stars from Christmas trees in county buildings following a resident's complaint last week.
Santa Rosa resident Irv Sutley, a 65-year-old atheist, became upset Friday when he saw religious symbols in a government setting.
Sutley complained to acting county administrator Chris Thomas, who met with attorneys before ordering the ornaments to be trimmed away.
“I don’t believe the government has the right to use tax dollars to show favoritism to any particular cult like Christianity,” said Sutley in a statement. “It’s just wrong. That’s why we have the Constitution, to protect minorities from the majority opinion.”
Some residents were perturbed.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” said Santa Rosa resident Bill Sebastian. “Don’t pick on the angels and stars. Find something real to pick on.”
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that the U.S. government can endorse Christmas as long as it does not endorse any one particular religion.