Oh, good Lord

You know, if he put it in someone else's yard and set it on fire, I can see how that would be a problem, but that's hardly the case here...

A New Jersey man who put a cross in his yard to mark Lent said he will fight back against township officials who forced him to take it down.

Patrick Racaniello of Livingston said he initially put a small cross on a tree in his yard to mark the Christian season from Ash Wednesday to Easter and replaced it with a larger cross when township officials informed him of an ordinance banning postings on structures -- trees included -- "calculated to attract the attention of the public," The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported Monday.

Racaniello said he replaced the item with a larger, free-standing cross in his yard, but officials threatened him with fines and he took it down.

So, wait, does that mean that in this township, you're not allowed to put up Christmas lights when December rolls around? Or an American flag on the Fourth of July? How about a "Beware of Dog" sign on your backyard gate?

I understand that in most jurisdictions that there are certain limits on what you can put on your property--after all, I wouldn't want my neighbors putting a billboard on their roof--but let's use some common sense here, people. Putting a small cross on a tree isn't going to hurt anybody.