Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a member of the Freedom Caucus, successfully pushed SB 1279, which prohibits “Satanic memorials, statues, altars or displays or any other method of representing or honoring Satan may not be displayed on public property” through the Senate Government Committee Wednesday on a 5-1 party-line vote. Hoffman has named it the RESPECT Act, an acronym for “Reject Escalating Satanism by Preserving Essential Core Traditions.”
Democratic Sen. Juan Mendez made sure to begin by asking Hoffman why he was singling out one religion. Hoffman responded, “It's not a religion. Satanism is not a religion. Satan is implicitly antithetical to religion.” Mendez replied, “I guess I'm trying to understand the motivation for that. Is it because it's insulting to your religion?”
The debate around SB 1279 was heated and lasted about 30 minutes, with dissents coming from the public. Micah Mangione, a representative for the Freedom from Religion Association, testified that the First Amendment is pretty clear about this kind of buffoonery: “I am genuinely impressed that in only 25 words this bill seems to violate three separate clauses of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” He added, “If you can go after the Satanic Temple, which is a religion, what about paganism next? What about Judaism next? How about Islam? How about LDS?”
At one point Hoffman attempted a gotcha moment as an unidentified woman testified against the bill, asserting, “So you think that it's okay, that it's both legally and constitutionally okay to argue that Satan—so someone like I explained earlier—who is universally known to be explicitly the enemy of God, antithetical to God. You think that's targeting your religion?“ The woman responded with her own question, “Universally known to you?” Oh man, these Freedom Caucus guys are so bad at gotcha moments!
Hoffman, who believes in a specific Christian God, responded, “No to literally everyone. Like, that's not a–that's not a point. That's not debatable. Saying this is the enemy of God. Would you not say that Satan is the enemy of God?” To which the woman responded, “No.”
So satisfying. Mendez was also flabbergasted by Hoffman and his fellow Republicans’ obtuseness, said, “I don’t understand how we all don’t see this as an attack on the Constitution.”
While all of this strange Freedom Caucus BS is going on, Arizona is facing budget deficits and the need to come to an agreement across the aisle. Republicans want to rush the budget through before more budgetary forecasts are available. They definitely don’t want to still be discussing the Grand Canyon State’s budget issues as more and more information comes out about how much of an educational and financial disaster conservatives’ private school voucher program has been for taxpayers.
Arizona Republican Sen. J.D. Mesnard has offered up a way to kick the can down the road by allowing last year’s budget to be applied as a contingency plan if Republicans fail to come up with one by the June 30 deadline. If the bill passes through the state’s legislature, voters would have the final decision on it. I guess instead of managing the state’s fiscal concerns, Arizona Republicans can continue going after various non-Christian religions.
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