CCNV SUES ANEW TO GET STATUE ON THE ELLIPSE

For the second time in four years, the Community for Creative Non-Violence has filed suit against the government to have a sculpture depicting a homeless family of three huddled over a steam vent included in the annual Christmas Pageant of Peace on the Ellipse.

CCNV, a homeless rights organization, lost a similar lawsuit in 1985 when a federal judge rejected its bid to include the sculpture, entitled "And Still There is No Room at the Inn," in the pageant.

CCNV regards the sculpture as a "contemporary nativity scene" portraying a "class of less fortunate Americans who urgently need to be remembered during a season that has as its principal theme 'a time for giving' and 'sharing,' " according to the lawsuit filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court.

On Nov. 10, the National Park Service rejected CCNV's offer to include the sculpture in the pageant.

In a letter to CCNV, the Park Service said the statue "does not depict a symbol relating to how Americans have traditionally celebrated the Christmas season."

The service also rejected the sculpture last year, but CCNV filed no lawsuit then.

The same sculpture is involved in two other active lawsuits. One, before a federal appeals court here, concerns whether the sculpture can be shown on the grounds of the Capitol.

The other, before the U.S. Supreme Court, concerns whether CCNV or the sculptor owns the copyright.

"This poor statue has been litigated more than any other statue I've ever heard of," said Mitch Snyder, the spokesman for CCNV.

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