NDR Media Coverage

Treatment of Idaho Atheists is clearly discriminatory majority

by Jack Van Valkenburgh

Here is an unfortunate — but true — story of discrimination in Idaho, year after year, by Idaho state officials, including Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

The issuing of proclamations by the governor is a discretionary function, meaning he can deny, without comment, any proclamation request he receives.

So the fact that he regularly has denied requests by Idaho Atheists for proclamations, while granting requests of Christian groups, has struck us as a problem we can't address in the courts — even though he inappropriately favors Christians over the non-religious, and even though he does sometimes violate his own proclamation guidelines.

Once again this year the atheists requested a proclamation, this time for an "Idaho Day of Reason," and again the governor denied their request.

This year, however, the Idaho Atheists have done something new, and the state has reacted by violating its own Statehouse use policies in order to advance the National Day of Prayer.

Background: The National Day of Prayer (NDoP) is a nationwide event held the first Thursday of May. Gov. Kempthorne not only regularly issues a proclamation for it but also regularly attends the Idaho event held on the Statehouse steps during the noon hour.

In recent years, one Idaho Atheist member, Susan Harrington, has been so offended by the governor's acts that promote religion over non-religion that she has attended each year's NDoP at the Statehouse. While there, she has politely questioned the governor as to how he can justify his religious proclamations while denying the atheists'.

This winter, Ms. Harrington requested the Statehouse steps for the first Thursday of May for the Idaho Atheists. Her request was granted because the use policy for the Statehouse (see http://www2.state.id.us/adm/pubworks/facilities/capitol.htm) is first come, first served, and no other request for the Statehouse steps for that day, May 5, had been received.

Then two strange things happened:

First, she received a voice mail from a member of the local National Day of Prayer committee acknowledging that they had mistakenly neglected to reserve the steps earlier.

He said the prayer people would meet inside the Statehouse given that the atheists would be outside on the steps. He said he hoped that wouldn't be a problem. Ms. Harrington saved the voice mail, then called the gentleman back and said his plan would be fine.

Second, the state double-crossed her. Tim Mason, statewide facilities manager, now says the Idaho Atheists cannot use the main Statehouse steps because the NDoP event "has been a standing event for a number of years."

Excuse me? Where in the Statehouse use policies is there reference to "standing events" preempting others that are calendared in accordance with the written policies?

And why, since the NDoP representative admitted the mistake was theirs, and let Harrington know that they would be inside the Statehouse, why now is Statehouse facilities inventing a rationale that promotes the NDoP at the expense of Idaho Atheists?

It seems there is one answer to these questions, which is also the reason why Gov. Kempthorne repeatedly issues religious proclamations while denying the atheists' requests.

The answer is that these state officials would rather advance their standing with the Christian majority than treat people equally. It's as simple as that.

I wish state officials, whatever their religion, would stand up for American values, like the values of fair treatment and respect for different people, whether they are religious or not, whether they are in the majority or in the minority.

Everyone, including the governor, has the right to pray and to be religious. The ACLU protects that right. But no one should use the power of the state to advance a religion — any religion.

Jack Van Valkenburgh is an attorney and executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho.

Copyright 2005 The Idaho Statesman

Original article available here.

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