Neigborhood Association: "Away With the Manger"

A Michigan subdivision is telling one family to get baby Jesus off their lawn:

NOVI - The multicolored nativity scene on the Samona family's front yard is under attack.

The Samonas' neighborhood association has ordered the Novi family to remove its seven-piece plastic display or face possible fines of $25 to $100 per week.

The family isn't budging and neither are its three wise men. The Samonas have vowed not only to keep the display, but also are threatening to enhance it."If you take this out, it's not Christmas anymore," said Joe Samona, 16, as he reached down and scooped baby Jesus from the creche on his parents' front lawn.

A letter sent by the association to the Samonas has brought to their front yard the nation's latest skirmish over just how and where the Christianity of Christmas should be on display.

Already this year, religious groups have taken aim at retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Target for replacing Christmas with fuzzier "holiday" greetings, to say nothing of the annual battles over local governments building nativity scenes in the public square.

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Last week, Joe's parents, Betty and Frank Samona, received a notice from the community association that sets regulations in their upscale Tollgate Woods subdivision. It said the family may be violating rules that prohibit lawn ornaments, statues or outdoor art from being placed on the lot without prior approval of the board of directors.

Then it simply says: "Please remove the nativity scene display from your front yard."

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"Please remove your nativity scene? That's the part that disturbs us. We have the lion (statue) and the Santa and Mrs. Claus and they specifically point out the nativity scene? That's ridiculous. We refuse to take it down," [Samona] said.

My Comments:
"The War on Christmas" continues.

It should be noted that the subdivision did NOT tell the Samona family to remove the other lawn decorations, such as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Only the Nativity scene was ordered removed. The association should lose in court on that basis - the selective and completely subjective (not to mention discriminatory) enforcement of its rules.

Also, this family is an Iraqi-Christian family. Imagine escaping Saddam's Iraq and coming to America only to be told that you don't enjoy the freedom to celebrate your religious holidays according to your customs and traditions (as if putting up a Nativity scene is somehow a strange custom in the U.S.A., but that's almost how it's treated in this story).