The American Civil Liberties Union has announced its intention of filing a “friend of the court” brief opposing erection of a Nativity scene at Christmas time on the grounds of a public school in Ossining, New York. The case is currently before the New York State Supreme Court in White Plains, N. Y. A similar suit by Ossining residents seeking to enjoin the erection of a creche on school grounds was turned down by the same court last year.
The ACLU concern with the case is in upholding the principle of separation of state and church. The organization’s attorney noted that placement of the Nativity scene on school grounds had split the community.
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