Article 6, Section 8 of the North Carolina state constitution bars people from taking office unless they believe in God. It is generally understood that this provision violates the 1st and 14th Amendments. As if there isn't an argument for why this should be repealed, there's a biggie in Asheville. Several residents tried to keep a newly elected member of the city council from taking his seat because he's an atheist.
North Carolina's constitution is clear: politicians who deny the existence of God are barred from holding office.
Opponents of Cecil Bothwell are seizing on that law to argue he should not be seated as a City Council member today, even though federal courts have ruled religious tests for public office are unlawful under the U.S. Constitution.
The former president of the local NAACP, of all people, suggested that Bothwell shouldn't be allowed to take office until a "constitutional question" can be resolved. Fortunately, the city council didn't back down, and Bothwell was duly sworn in.
Still, the fact we even had this discussion is a disgrace both to North Carolina and the nation. How in the world can we be having a discussion like this in 2009?
I had thought that this kind of religious baiting had fallen out of fashion in North Carolina. Remember, Liddy Dole tried to start a whispering campaign about Kay Hagan meeting with an atheist group--a page straight out of Jesse Helms' playbook. The result? Hagan cleaned Liddy's clock in most of the eastern part of the state, the same area where Helms usually ran up the votes.