Over the weekend, an atheist sign was stolen in Streator, IL:

The Freedom From Religion Foundation offered a $1,500 reward for the capture of the perpetrators, but no one has been caught just yet…

In the meantime, FFRF has put up another sign in the same location. This time, though, there’s a message for anyone thinking of taking it:

The replacement banner features a new message to “sinful” Christians “P.S. your god says, ‘thou shalt not steal.’”

…

“We are floored by this recent act of discrimination and vandalism against a minority group. This situation exemplifies the harm in blending city government and religion,” noted Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president. “We can only hope that our new banner is afforded the same treatment as the religious cross display and remains unharmed.”

I give it a day…

Remember how the Dallas–Fort Worth Coalition of Reason started an advertising campaign called “Our Families Are Great Without Religion”?

Remember how they wanted to place this ad in movie theaters to run before the showing of films?

Remember how the Green Oaks Movie Tavern in Arlington said they *would not* run the ad?

Remember how the Angelika Film Center in Plano stepped in and said they *would* run the ad?

Now, they’ve changed their mind due to complaints from Christians. Because I guess the sight of happy, diverse atheist families is too much for some of them to bear…

DFW-CoR coordinator Zach Moore writes:

I’ve just been called by a rep for the Angelika Plano, and it seems that in the face of complaints from Christian customers, they’re canceling our contract. Please direct your complaints to 972-943-1300 and ask for the manager!

Yes to that. Please call them and find out what’s going on and why the theater is caving in to the baseless complaints. (Honestly, what’s so offensive about that ad?!)

***Update***: Zach adds in an email:

The rep called me this morning and said that the Angelika Plano had received complaints from people who saw the Observer blog post. So they canceled our contract, which was signed on Wednesday.

Unlike the Movie Tavern, the Angelika isn’t making any claim to having a policy against religious advertising. In fact, my understanding is that they currently allow area churches to advertise in the very theater for which we were under contract. They simply caved to the anti-atheist bigotry, plain and simple.

***Update 2***: Reader plutoanimus adds:

I just spoke the the manager of the Angelika Film Center, and he said the decision was made at the corporate level.

He gave me the following number for voicing complaints… (213) 235-2222.

The corporate offices may be closed until Monday, just FYI.

Check out the new billboard up in Tallahassee, Florida:

The Tallahassee Atheists meet every Sunday morning in case you’d like to attend a meeting. More information is on their Facebook page!

No press coverage for the ad yet, but I’m sure that’ll come soon…

(via @TallyAtheists)

The Wichita Coalition of Reason just put up the following billboard in two locations thanks to $4,108 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason:

Reaching out to the like-minded isn’t the only goal of the coalition: “We hope people will realize that we’re already a regular part of the community,” said Sean Gillespie, coordinator of Wichita CoR. “Non-theists and skeptics like us live throughout Kansas. We’re your friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers. Some of us may even be in the pew next to you in church!”

The billboard is also promoting the free Skeptics of Oz conference taking place April 21^st-22^nd at the Forum Theater.

Incidentally, since March of 2009, there have been atheists billboards put up by the United Coalition of Reason in 29 different states (and the District of Columbia). There’s no reason to stop, either. In a state like Kansas, even a billboard as innocuous as this one stands to be controversial, drawing all sorts of publicity for the coalition groups in the process.

Last week, I mentioned that the Dallas–Fort Worth Coalition of Reason was embarking on a new advertising campaign called “Our Families Are Great Without Religion.” The goal was to highlight how “family” was not synonymous with “Christian.”

One ad seemed to be particularly controversial:

That ad was supposed to appear during pre-show ads at the Green Oaks Movie Tavern in Arlington. At the last minute, though, the theater changed its mind and said no.

Now, some good news: Another theater has accepted it! The Angelika Film Center in Plano will start running the ad before movies beginning on Good Friday

Zachary Moore, DFWCoR’s spokesman, tells Unfair Park that the group reached out to the Angelika chain after being it’s-not-you-it’s-me’d by Movie Tavern. “Initially they said no, and then they said maybe if we changed the ad, and then they said yes to the original,” he writes. “It’s an Easter miracle!”

So yay for that. Even though it’s ridiculous that this theater initially opposed the harmless image above, as if it represented something awful…

Congratulations to the DFW-CoR for being persistent with this and getting the ad accepted. If you haven’t seen the rest of the wonderful ads in their “Family” campaign, check them out here.

The Backyard Skeptics just put up this billboard in Westminster, California:

God Is Imaginary –- Choose Reality — It is better for everyone

The billboard was paid for by an anonymous donor and American Atheists.

(via Skeptic Money)

The Dallas–Fort Worth Coalition of Reason is about to embark on a new advertising campaign called “Our Families Are Great Without Religion” that will highlight how “family” is not synonymous with “Christian”.

Here are the images that will be cycling through on the billboard along I-30 in Grand Prairie (Tom Landry Freeway) beginning Easter weekend — each image will be up for one week:

The following ad will also appear during pre-show ads at the Green Oaks Movie Tavern in Arlington (***Update***: Zach Moore writes: “After this early publicity, the Green Oaks Movie Tavern has decided to disallow our ads at the last minute. Our money is being refunded, and we’re currently pursuing other theater opportunities):

DFWCoR Coordinator Zachary Moore explained that “too often in our culture, the word ‘family’ is code for ‘religion.’ Organizations like ‘Focus on the Family’ and the ‘Family Research Council’ profit from the assumption that families need religion.” In contrast to those religious groups, Moore said that families in the DFWCoR “raise their kids to examine religion critically, not just to be dogmatic atheists. Our parents want to inspire their kids to love knowledge rather than faith.” Photographs of families from the organization will be shown on the campaign billboard and on the movie theater advertisements.

Beautiful, no?

Not only that — the DFWCoR is prepared to help any families that join their member groups:

… several member organizations within the DFWCoR specifically cater to families with kids, offering secular “Sunday School” programs and Camp Quest Texas, a week-long residential summer camp for the children of local atheists. “It’s never been easier to be an atheist parent in Texas,” Moore boasted.

So this should go over pretty smoothly, right?

Of course not.

The local FOX affiliate says the ads are “targeting kids” (?!?!):

Umm… targeting them with the knowledge that both religious and non-religious families can be equally happy? Blasphemy, I know…

The best part of the video happens at the 2:33 mark when the host asks the reporter which movies’ previews will show the ads — you know, so parents can prepare their children for the heresy that will inevitably ensue.

After finding out the ad will play twice before all movies in April, the host stares blankly into the camera, visibly disturbed, and says, “So, parents… keep that in mind.”

On a brighter note, the same station invited one of the couples to speak with them in-studio. Will and Angel Crowley did a fantastic job.

And that’s not all! A FOX station out of Austin did another segment on the ads, calling them “anti-religious.”

That’s news to me. I don’t see any anti-anything statements in those ads… what did I miss?