Following a press release issued by New York State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) which called for a boycott of Times Square and the revocation of American Atheists’ 501(c)(3) nonprofit status because of our Christmas billboard campaign, American Atheists President David Silverman has released the following open letter to State Senator Lanza.

State Senator Andrew Lanza

Legislative Office Building

188 State Street

Room 915

Albany, NY 12247

December 16, 2013

State Senator Andrew Lanza:

Your recent press release “denouncing” our “hateful” billboard in Times Square and “calling for the revocation” of American Atheists’ 501(c)(3) nonprofit status leads me to believe that you have little idea what the First Amendment of the Constitution actually protects. Please allow me to educate you.

The First Amendment gives all Americans, irrespective of their beliefs, exactly the same rights. This means we all have the right to express ourselves as long as we don’t infringe on the rights of others. Nobody has more or fewer rights than anyone else. Christianity is not superior to atheism or any other system; Christianity is equal to atheism under the Constitution.

Does our billboard infringe on anyone’s rights to do as they see fit? Can our billboard affect your life if you don’t want it to do so? One could ask the same question about Christian billboards threatening non-Christians with hell.

The answer, of course, is no. Billboards don’t infringe on people’s rights.

You are the one attempting to infringe on others’ rights. You are petitioning, on your official government-hosted website, to suppress our Constitutional right to freedom of speech. This is truly an act that should frighten Americans. Your abuse of your office to attempt to silence a minority group is not only un-American, it is the antithesis of the ideals upon which our nation was founded.

You should be ashamed of yourself, and all New Yorkers should be ashamed to be represented by you. In your press release, you defame the character of the tens of millions of atheists, agnostics, and nontheists by saying, “[I]t is not surprising to me that people who do not believe in God are hateful and malicious.” That is bigotry, plain and simple. You smear the nearly 3 million non-religious New Yorkers with your hate. You are unworthy of the office you hold.

New Yorkers deserve to be governed fairly by someone who understands the value of diversity and the benefits of freedom of speech, not by a theocrat who attacks our most cherished values on a religious whim.

The fact that you are using your religious hatred to try to damage the businesses in New York’s Times Square by calling for a boycott there during the holiday season astounds me. I wonder if you’d call for a boycott of your own home district if there was a billboard you didn’t like erected in Staten Island.

You call our billboard “hate speech.” You say that “there is no room in our society for religious hatred or persecution.” Yet, this critique rings hollow when it comes from a man who voted to enshrine religious persecution in the laws of New York by voting against equality for LGBT New Yorkers.

Our billboard, which points out that Christmas is better without the religious baggage, is not hate speech nor persecution, Senator. Critique is not persecution. Demanding our equality is not an attack on your rights. It is an assertion of ours.

America is not a Christian nation. In the words of President Obama, “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers.” Our First Amendment rights are not negotiable, and neither is our place in society. We will continue to assert our rights proudly and defend the right of all Americans to have a government that treats all religions—and all citizens—equally.

Make no mistake: We do not fear you. The more you attempt to silence us, the louder you will hear us rise in opposition to your posturing. You are so damaged by your religion that you can’t obey your own oath to uphold the Constitution when it conflicts with your dogma and pride.

Enjoy our current and future awareness-raising projects. It could not be more clear that you need them.

Sincerely,



David Silverman

President

American Atheists