Gig Harbor bans nativity scene from city park

There’s no room at the inn in Gig Harbor.

The city council voted (4-2) Monday night for the final time to ban a nativity scene beneath its Christmas tree in a city park. A Wisconsin group, Freedom From Religion Foundation, threatened to sue the city for allowing a religious symbol in a government-owned park.

RELATED: The Christmas story behind the Gig Harbor controversy

Gig Harbor’s City Manager Ron Williams says the decision doesn’t mean the council is anti-Christmas.

“What some people misunderstand is they think that a city council member doesn’t like Christmas,” Williams told KIRO 7. “It’s an interplay between the freedom of religion and the establishment of a religion.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the City of Gig Harbor before the holiday season kicked off in 2016. It argued that the city was violating the separation of church and state by allowing a resident to set up the nativity scene on public property.

The scene had been a fixture in the park for years. Resident John Skansi set it up in the park named after his family.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation said that if the city had no permitting process for such displays, it was favoring a religion. The city opted to skip the scene in 2016.

The letter sparked a controversy among Gig Harbor residents, even raising eyebrows from another national organization, First Liberty Institute.

“This is sad and flagrantly un-American. The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that such a display is perfectly lawful and has been for decades,” said Roger Byron, senior counsel for the First Liberty Institute.

According to Byron, the city should have had no problem allowing the nativity scene. The institute offered to meet with Gig Harbor city officials to counsel them on the First Amendment — specifically on what is called the “Three Reindeer Rule.”  The rule states that cities can host nativity scenes as long as secular aspects are present.

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