BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Take a stroll through downtown Brownstown, and you'll find Christmas spirit everywhere you look. There are big red bows, jolly plastic Santas and a variety of nativity scenes in the windows of shops like the hardware store owned by Junior Wessel, Brownstown Hardware.
"I think Christmas is really a nice time to enjoy with people," said Wessel, who's lived and worked in the town for most of his life.
But just across the street from Wessel is another nativity scene that could go away if some get their way.
"Well, it made me feel real bad, sad and sorry that a few people can do that to the rest of the people," Wessel said.
The problem is the nativity scene's location: the county courthouse. A Wisconsin-based group known as Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state, said it got involved when someone here contacted them.
"The government may not put holiday displays on government property that endorses a religious message," said Ryan Jayne, an attorney for the group. "That is unquestionably an unconstitutional endorsement of religion."
Just days ago, Jayne sent Jackson County commissioners a letter demanding the display be removed for First Amendment reasons.
A copy of the letter is below:
"Just imagine if the government were promoting a religion that you don't like, if the government were promoting, say, Islam or Satanism," Jayne said. "It would not be enough for the county to just allow a private group to put a secular display next to the government's religious display. The government simply cannot have a religious display itself."
Even though Jayne said the Supreme Court is on his group's side, Commissioner Drew Markel has a different opinion.
"We will not be threatened, and we will not remove the display," Markel said.
Markel pointed out that the decorations are secular, since just feet from the nativity scene is a row of carolers, Santa Claus and a reindeer.
"We believe we have a Constitutional right to have this nativity scene and holiday display up here in the county," he said.
Mason Fleetwood, who owns Blondie's Pizzeria & Pub across the street from the display, hopes Markel and the county stand strong.
"What I would recommend is if you're coming down Highway 50 to just look straight forward and don't look over there if it offends them," he said. "It looks wonderful over there. I'm here every night. When I go out, I see it over there. A lot of people stop and take pictures of it."
Those with similar feelings have created a Facebook group called "Save the Nativity" that now has more than 1,700 members. According to the page, those in support of the nativity scene are planning to meet at the display at 1 p.m. Saturday to rally for it.
Meanwhile, the Freedom for Religion Foundation said until the county takes the display down, all legal options are still on the table.
Copyright 2018 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
