RI Bill Would Ban Altering Holiday Concepts and Symbols

Yesterday, the Rhode Island House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare held hearings on a bill that would prohibit municipalities from altering "the name or concept of any religious or secular holiday or any religious or secular symbol associated with any such holiday." The Providence Journal reports that the bill was proposed by Rep. Richard W. Singleton after a Tiverton , RI school superintendent prohibited a parents group from sponsoring a photo booth featuring the Easter Bunny at a middle school craft fair. Instead they used a costumed Peter Rabbit. Opposing the bill, Mia Manzotti, associate director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns said that the language is vague and overly broad and would cause confusion.