By Lookout Staff

May 21, 2012 -- A national group that champions the separation of church and state has threatened to sue the City of Santa Monica if it moves forward Tuesday with a proposal by Nativity scene organizers that would ban signs and banners that "denigrate" holiday traditions.

The Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee proposal -- called “Celebrate the Season” -- recommends that the City adopt rules and deadlines for the displays after atheist groups nudged out most of the nativity scenes traditionally displayed in Palisades Park during the past holiday season.

“The city council can’t favor religious displays over non-religious displays,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “If the city does what Liberty Counsel wants, a lawsuit is almost a certainty.”

The Liberty Counsel, a conservative non-profit affiliated with the late TV preacher Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, advised the City last week that it can prescribe rules for the displays.

“The City has the legal and constitutional authority to designate a December holiday decoration forum in a park open to private individuals and to impose reasonable rules as long as participation is allowed in a fair and even-handed manner,” according to the Liberty Counsel.

In a statement issued last week, Americans United said the group was giving the City bad advice.

The Liberty Counsel proposal is intended to “pave the way for religious displays while screening out non-religious ones," which “grossly misrepresents” the requirements of constitutional law, Americans United said.

Liberty Counsel "is a fundamentalist Christian advocacy organization that mentions Christian beliefs in its doctrinal statement," Americans United said.

The controversy started during 2011-2012 holiday season, when several atheist groups entered the City's lottery for places among the 21 plots reserved for the wintertime displays and ended up claiming 18 of them.

Throughout December of last year, the sidewalk on the west side of Ocean Avenue was lined with only three of the usual scenes depicting the Christmas story, which were crowded on the south side of the park.

A Menorah, a number of plots left empty and various displays protesting religion and advocating the separation of church and state took up the rest of the display areas.

In February, the Council decided to continue discussion of an ordinance banning all unattended displays from the park Tuesday. ("Santa Monica Council Delays Vote on Holiday Displays," March 1, 2012)

"Since February 28th, staff has been in contact with representatives of the groups that installed the Nativity scenes and the anti-religious displays last winter," Staff wrote in its report to the council.

"Both groups have received advice from attorneys. Both have informed staff that they will file more applications next year to increase their odds of being allocated more spaces."