The Nation - News from Feb. 21, 1985

The Supreme Court, hearing one of the most controversial church and state cases on its docket, was urged to allow municipalities to bar Nativity displays from public property when they may prove offensive to the community. Forcing a city to sanction such displays, said a lawyer representing the village of Scarsdale, N.Y., could invite demands that a community also permit swastikas, a hammer and sickle and racist or anti-Semitic symbols and slogans. But an attorney representing Nativity scene sponsors contended such displays should not be barred simply because they are controversial.