FFRF member and Rhode Island freethought activist Debbie Flitman (above left), assisted by FFRF member Tony Houston, for the second year in a row erected FFRF’s “no gods” winter solstice sign in the Rhode Island Capitol in late November. In response, Republican state Rep. Mike Chippendale posted an attack about FFRF’s display on his public Facebook page. Chippendale posted a rant, later removed, about how “atheists just can’t keep their non-beliefs to themselves.”
There are even more secular signs up this year to counter the nativity scene in the Capitol, which was given a big ceremony in December. The secular responses include a Tree of Knowledge by the Humanists of Rhode Island (led by Steve Ahlquist), a display by the Community of Reason and several others.
