Nativity scene inside Iowa Capitol called free speech

A traditional Christmas display depicting the birth of Jesus has been placed inside the Iowa Capitol by believers in Christianity who compare it to free speech in a public area.

About 50 people attended a brief ceremony Monday in the Capitol Rotunda to mark the installation of the manger scene, which is most commonly seen in churches and homes.

Martin Cannon, a lawyer for the Thomas More Society, a religious liberties legal group that helped to organize the event, said that expressions of religious faith have been "somewhat frozen out of the public square" for so long that many people are not accustomed to seeing it happen.

But there is no question about the legality of the display, said Cannon, who lives in Crescent, in western Iowa. "This is the quintessential public sidewalk," he said of the Capitol Rotunda. "Right here, subject to reasonable constraints that serve decorum and simple management, it is a public space."

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/12/nativity-scene-inside-iowa-capitol-called-free-speech/95337832/