NBU says that when they realized there had been a lapse in that policy they notified the Knights of Columbus that they would be taking the banner (similar to the one pictured left) down and they offered to compensate them for the cost of the banner. Posted on 12/18/2012 9:12:31 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
(New Braunfels, TX) -- A banner that was hanging across South Seguin Avenue reminding drivers to “Keep Christ in Christmas” has been taken down by NBU, after NBU realized the message was more religious in nature and not a non-profit group advertising an upcoming fundraiser.
NBU, which is the agency that is tasked with hanging such banners over the roadway, released a statement yesterday saying that human error led to the hanging of that banner, which was purchased by the local Knights of Columbus organization.
NBU says that regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the religious message, they are a municipal utility and are held to the same legal requirements as other government entities that are required to step lightly when it comes to separation of church and state.
They point out that while one message may be strongly supported by many in the community, another message may prove to be just as strongly offensive, and that’s why their internal policy is to avoid such controversies altogether by only allowing non-profit groups to advertise upcoming events on those banners.
NBU says that when they realized there had been a lapse in that policy they notified the Knights of Columbus that they would be taking the banner (similar to the one pictured left) down and they offered to compensate them for the cost of the banner.
They also apologized, both to the Knights of Columbus and to the community, for the error, and they say they are reviewing their procedures to ensure that future banners comply with all requirements so they can continue to offer that service for local non-profit groups.
BTW. NBU = New Braunfels Utilities.
The more the PAGANS curse YHvH,
the more violence will increase.
Would they object to “Keep Mohammed in Christmas”? Sure, that would be a silly banner but you know they’d let it fly.
LOL, I kept trying to figure out where the heck New Braunfels University was and why they cared about a street banner.
Felix Navidad would fly here.
I live 2 blocks from this lapse in judgement.
Actually “Froehliche Weihnachten” would be proper greeting.
I have that same sign firmly planted at the entrance to my driveway. I was wondering the other day if someone would make me remove it. After all, the entrance to my driveway is in the city right of way. Sign stays until futher notice. I put it out every year.
Money is their god I see.
They are wrong about their obligation to “avoid controversy”.
While it may be their obligation to not be partisan, that obligation actually means that not only should they NOT oppose the message some citizens wanted to hang their banner saying, they simply need to also NOT fail to hang a banner with a very different message, an “opposing message” IF THEY WERE ASKED TO.
Instead, it is their action that represents the CONTROVERSY by pretending they have some right to pick and chose which of the citizens have freedom of speach and which do not.
It is not their job or obligation to be impartial to only those citizens they chose to be impartial to, it is their job to be impartial to all citizens all the time.
It is not their job to predetermine “controverial” statements and by doing so they create a public controvery of their own making. They should be fired.
I would never have made it to class, given all of the off-campus barbecue opportunities.
We continue to cut God out of this society. The problem is: When you remove God...something else takes His place. As President Obama said, we can’t stop evil...but we can stop openly inviting it into our everyday lives (something he would never say)...we can’t always prevent darkness...but we can stop this obsession with prohibiting the One who’s very presence makes darkness flee.
Whose birthday are we celebrating anyway? It’s not Santa’s or Rudolph’s.
Dec. 25 has been reclaimed by the pagans. The Christian Church should find another time to remember Jesus’s birth and keep ALL commercialism out of their celebrations.
Whoa, has the banner been destroyed? This is property of St. Peter and Paul’s Council 4183. It should have been returned so it can be displayed on church property.
Try flying that banner for the next Comal County barbecue, and see what happens.
Since they are a non-profit group, they should just amend the sign and schedule a fundraiser, and call it the “Keep Christ in Christmas Fundraiser”.
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