It’s not enough that Delaware’s GOP can’t be bothered to show up for their jobs and actually work at making the lives of Delawareans better — a few of them have to serve up that indifference to you with a heaping helping of bigotry aimed at Delawareans who are Muslim. This is Republican Senator Dave Lawson clearly communicating his dismissal of Muslims and their religion:
“We just heard from the Quran, which calls for our very demise,” Lawson said after a Muslim duo gave the invocation, including a passage from their holy text. “I fought for this country, not to be damned by someone that comes in here and prays to their God for our demise. I think that’s despicable.”
Lazy stereotyping after two Muslims gave the invocation in the Senate. And especially despicable because these two were specifically invited to provide the usual invocation which certainly doesn’t ask for harm against anyone and specifically provides a call to justice. Is there a better message for a group of legislators?
Senators Bimini and Lawson walked out of the Chamber for this invocation — apparently offended by the call to justice as well. Then we have Bonini making the usual excuses bigots make for each other:
“Anybody who knows Dave knows that there is not an ounce of hate in him,” he said. “There is not an an ounce of hate in me either.”
Betrayed, of course, by Lawsons own words above. And by the specific intolerance displayed by Boning and Lawson when they walked out of the prayer. People without an ounce of hate for Muslims would have stayed in the room and would not have taken to the Senate floor to denounce Muslims and this prayer. People without an ounce of hate would have asked their friend to keep their crap in check and not put their bigotry out there for everyone to see.
Senator Dave McBride’s censure did the right thing:
“I have never been of the mind to censure the words of other members, but I also believe deeply that words have consequences,” McBride said, reading aloud from a statement. “To criticize the sacred prayer of another religion from the floor of the Senate strikes me as antithetical to everything we ought to stand for as lawmakers.”
McBride went on to say that Muslims serve in the military and as police and are doctors, professors and teachers.
“I am personally offended that our guests from the Muslim community and anyone else here in the chamber today would feel anything less than welcomed with opened arms,” McBride said. “And for our guests today to be branded as anti-American when our First Amendment of our country’s Constitution explicitly guarantees the freedom of religion is both ironic and deeply sad to me.”
McBride said he was “hopeful we can move past this sad chapter in the body’s history.”
Senators Lawson and Bonnini need to be reminded that they have a real job to do — and that does not include invoking their bigotry on the Senate floor.
What kind of a flaming fool makes this kind of statement and what sort of low life defends it? Well said McBride, shame and condemnation on Lawson and Bigweenie.
Flaming fool = bigots
This is why they are so full of crap when they bemoan lack of prayer – they only recognize their prayer. The founding fathers are rolling over in their graves. These guys don’t believe in the Constitution they claim to love. Perhaps they should read it sometime.
Bonini and Lawson should either resign or be expelled from the Senate. Today.
you forgot one of the most divisive comments made: “you can’t be a good American and a good Muslim.” This type of comment steps beyond ignorant, and runs full on into the level of hate that is being perpetuated around our country against our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community. The people of Delaware should not expect or accept this kind of division and xenophobia from our elected officials.
Wonder if Lawson would stand behind his comments enough to exempt Muslim Americans living in Delaware from any state taxes. Certainly the state would not want the money of people who aren’t “good Americans”.
Lawson said, “The Koran says death to America”? Really Senator. Are you not aware the Koran was written centuries ago, and the America is a mere few hundred years old? How many Muslims live in their districts are they refusing to represent them? NO prayer of any kind in any public setting, religion is a private matter.
Lawson is also a co-sponsor of HB 125 — which I expect means that he is AOK with killing Americans as long as Christians do it.
The republicans in Delaware have shown their colors…they are Islamaphobes, pro death penalty. Are they also OLD Testament “Christians”?
Is there a way to target Lawson — pun unintended — in the next election?
55,000 Delawareans voted for Sanders. Surely there is a bold progressive in Lawson district to run.
So the Delaware General Assembly is now a house of worship, where time is taken from the people’s business to conduct God’s business.
What is Lawson’district? I’m too lazy to look it up.
SD 15
Lawson’s statement about Muslims wanting “our demise” is particularly ironic when Lawson is a co-sponsor of HB 125, which will, if passed, allow the state to execute its own citizens even without DNA evidence.
This is such an excellent point, Kristin.
Did anyone else Speak sour in addition to Senator McBride? I feel the response should have been stronger and more united based on the items I have read only Senator McBride spoke out.. That is disappointing to me.
oops it should say speak out not sour!
Senator McBride is the Senate President Pro Tempore, so I am guessing that he spoke for the Dems in the Senate at that point. But cc has a great question, though.
Every democrat representing every district in Delaware should have spoken out against this bigotry. They have NO guts, and NO nuts when the challenge is right in front of them.
DE GA full of many good ppl! Some hangers-on, some there 4 personal gain, Most R great ppl. With all due respect may I ask why keep DE blue or red ? Seems 2 me that’s just a distraction, a game 2 engage us so we don’t see what really goes on in governments.