Democrats took their war on religion to another level this month when Arizona Democratic Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton was found hiding Bibles from the House members' lounge under cushions and in refrigerators.
An investigation of security footage by the House sergeant-at-arms, Chuck Fitzgerald, confirmed her actions. Hamilton, an ordained Presbyterian minister, brought shame to her title by claiming that this was a “peaceful, playful protest” highlighting the importance of the separation of church and state.
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The Arizona House Ethics Committee unanimously found Hamilton guilty of engaging in disorderly behavior after an ethics complaint was filed against her. She is found to be in clear violation of rule 1 of the Arizona House of Representatives. According to the report, the implication of this is damaging the institutional integrity of the House. Yet the Arizona House Democrats voted against expelling her from the chamber.
It is one thing not to mix religion in policy, but to pull a shameless stunt like this is dangerously similar to efforts in places such as Quebec and France that have banned public servants from wearing religious symbols. What is worse is when the GOP wanted to expel her, state House Democrats made sure that the most they could bring out was a censure. That, too, was achieved only by a slim 30-28 margin. There are 31 Republicans and 28 Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Ignorance toward acts that stoop to such a low level seems to be their preferred strategy rather than speaking out against a member of their party who is clearly in the wrong. Their opposition to not only accountability but also justice is showcased quite openly by this decision. How can we expect state officials with such principles to protect and honor the freedoms that the Constitution guarantees us?
In a speech given by Hamilton in April, she stated, "I hold Scripture very dear to my heart." However, placing the Holy Bible inside a refrigerator does not seem to accurately reflect her words. But why would anyone expect that? Democrats have repeatedly fought against religious freedom. Any effort originating from a place of good faith that has anything even remotely to do with religion is termed "white Christian nationalism" in today's America. Democrats jump at the opportunity to link Christianity to race-based terrorism.
One such example is Texas Democrats fighting aggressively against a bill passed just last month that provided for chaplains to be employed in addition to school counselors in Texas public schools. Texas Democratic Rep. James Talarico, a prominent critic of the bill, justified his opposition in a statement, saying, "‘I worry that this bill will lead to Christian nationalists infiltrating our public schools and indoctrinating our students." This is the same Democratic Party that bats for sexually explicit material to be taught in schools so they can indoctrinate innocent students with the gender ideology. Talarico shamelessly termed this encouragement of religion and the teachings of God in schools as a "Christo-fascist movement."
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Talarico also said, "A religion that has to force people to put up a poster to prove its legitimacy is a dead religion," and that, "It's not one that I want to be a part of, it's not one that I think I am a part of." This was during the debate around the Ten Commandments in public schools. The Democrats clearly want to make it look like Christianity is a cult, and that its practice translates into indoctrination. To have a state official call a religion "dead" is highly inappropriate and uncalled for. But that seems to be acceptable without question today.
It is unfortunate that we live in a society where religion is frowned upon. But it's worse to see that the Democrats are out to actively attack religious freedoms and inject dangerous rhetoric around such a pure and divine concept. The Democrats must understand that the separation of church and state does not mean the erasure of faith from public life.
Max Mallhi is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.