Boca Raton wants to avoid the holiday headache that came last year when a pentagram went up in Sanborn Square and vandals followed. It is considering banning any privately erected holiday display.
The city may, however, put up its own displays: A Christmas tree, a menorah, a creche and a snowman â but nothing Satanic, Mayor Susan Haynie insisted.
That caveat isnât sitting well with school teacher Preston Smith, a self-described atheist who put up the pentagram at Sanborn Square, at Federal Highway and Palmetto Park Road, in December. The pentagram was adorned with the words âIn Satan We Trust.â
âThis is âDiscrimination 101â â Smith said.
The pentagram situated between a menorah and creche prompted protests, media attention and at least 10 reports of vandalism, city officials say.
âThe Satanic symbol was so provocative and it brought out a lot of emotion for a lot of people,â Haynie said. The city council will vote on whether to ban public displays at the designated âfree speech zoneâ and discuss the possibility of creating city-sponsored displays at an Aug. 22 meeting.
Boca Raton can buy and place a nativity scene, menorah, Christmas tree and snowman without legal repercussion, Haynie said, citing advice from the city attorney.
âHopefully that will be satisfactory,â Haynie said.
City leaders say the move would relieve the burden of policing the displays.
âWhen (police are) being called to respond to these vandalism issues, theyâre taking officers away from other people who might need it,â said Chrissy Gibson, city spokeswoman. She added that the decision to place city-owned displays is not yet official.
âWeâll hear from the public (at the meeting),â Gibson said.
Smith intended to cause a stir. Heâs a member of an organization called the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and said he knew the pentagram would spark conversation about religious freedom.
He welcomed a proposed ban on all public displays at Sanborn Square. But if the city decides to allow Christmas trees and menorahs but not objects like his pentagram, Smith promised a fight.
âUndeniably, this proves they want a Judeo-Christian theocracy. And all other viewpoints are considered suspect,â Smith said. âIâd encourage atheist activists to fight the continued assault on our first amendment rights.â
An attorney with Freedom From Religion warned that city-sponsored religious displays would put Boca Raton at risk of lawsuit.
âThe city essentially has only two options: They can either allow all private displays, or they can allow no private displays,â Andrew Seidel said. âAnything else is discrimination.â
Public-sponsored displays are permitted as long as they donât exclude or promote certain religious groups.
The stir caused by last yearâs display and exclusion of Satanism from city-sponsored displays would lead any court to believe the decision is discriminatory, Seidel said.
Said Seidel: âThat is a lawsuit that has been lost many times over.â