Chance bill would protect ‘Merry Christmas,’ other holiday greetings

If state Sen. Ronnie Chance of Tyrone has his way, government employees and school students in Georgia will have free reign to wish one another “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hanukkah” or any other holiday expression.

Chance has authored a bill in the Georgia Senate that would prohibit government agencies, including school systems, from putting the holiday greeting muzzle on employees and students. He noted that a public school principal in north Georgia barred his teachers from using the word “Christmas” in reference to their staff holiday party.

The principal also forbade staffers from wearing any clothing that contained the word Christmas or displayed crosses or angels, Chance said.
That’s simply taking things a bit too far, Chance added.

“Our First Amendment right to free speech cannot be destroyed by political correctness run amok,” Chance said. “Our government, particularly our public schools, should not dictate what state employees and our school children say in regards to any recognized holiday.”

Chance said free speech is “a “sacred, precious right that has made America great and the model of democracy throughout the world.”

Senate Bill 369 will be carried in the House of Representatives by Clay Cox, R-Lilburn.

“It is sad that it has come to this, but we believe that legislative action is needed,” Cox said.

Peachtree City recently had a moral skirmish over the naming of its Christmas tree, which was officially referred to as “The Grand Tree.” Mayor Steve Brown said that the word Christmas was not left off to avoid complaints, but the tree name was developed to connote the tree’s significance compared to regular Christmas trees.

Brown later blamed some of the voter backlash against him at the polls in Tuesday’s general election to the tree-naming issue. Peachtree City’s American Legion Post boycotted the event because of the perception that the city was not using the word Christmas to describe the tree, leading many to believe it was done for the sake of political correctness.