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Illinois Legislator Called Out for Rant
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Pundits and ordinary folks throughout the country are calling on an Illinois legislator to resign. Last week, State Representative Monique Davis of Chicago got worked up during a hearing. Atheist activist Rob Sherman was testifying about state funds for restoring Chicago’s Pilgrim Baptist Church, which was gutted by fire two years ago.
The exchange has brought national attention to the state capital and has some calling for Davis’s resignation. Among them is the New York-based Council for Secular Humanism. Ronald Lindsay is the director of the Council’s First Amendment Task Force, and he joins us on the line.
Note: We learned shortly after the conversation that Representative Davis personally apologized to Sherman yesterday. You can read the details of the apology.
Music Button: REM, "Losing My Religion" from the CD Out of Time (Warner Brothers music)
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Gregory Ignatius, Chicago Irving Park // Thursday, April 10, 2008 @ 6:05 PM
I was appalled that during your coverage of this incident there was zero acknowledgement of Monique Davis' right to free speech. Being elected a legislator does not mean she is required to only utter politically correct sentiments. Regardless of whether it was considered temper or something else, she has a right to speak what is on her mind. If the people who elected her disagree, they can vote her out. It is reprehensible that WBEZ even offered the suggestion thtat the right thing for her to do might be to resign. Sherman has a right to speak his mind, and so does Davis. Sometimes when we disagree that will make others uncomfortable. Its the political process. If Davis used her power as a legislator to prohibit him from exercising his rights, then she should be called out on that, not because she angrily disagreed with him.
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