A new lawsuit is moving forward against Texas Governor Greg Abbott for his order to remove a mock nativity scene from the Texas Capitol.
The nativity scene, first erected in 2015, was created by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The cardboard nativity scene features several founding fathers and the Statue of Liberty looking at the Bill of Rights, in a manger, according to the Texas Tribune.
In 2015, the State Preservation board approved the display, and it was set up in the Texas Capitol's basement. Governor Greg Abbott soon issued a letter to the Preservation Board asking for the display to be removed, citing it as a "juvenile parody."
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sued Abbott over the display's removal, earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today that the lawsuit should move forward, because the Foundation raised valid questions. The Texas Tribune reported that Judge Sparks wrote that the lawsuit should move forward, because Abbott's order may have been simply based on his disagreement with the viewpoint of the display.
The Judge's order does not mean that Texas has to put the exhibit back on display.
