IDAHO
IDAHO STATE DIRECTOR
Susan Harrington
P.O. Box 204
Boise, ID 83701-0204
Telephone: 208-392-9981
E-mail: sharrington@atheists.org
The Atheist Viewpoint
showing Sundays at 6:30 PM on TVTV, Channel 11
Treasure Valley Public Access Television
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2005
For more information, please contact:
Randall Tigue, Lead Counsel (612) 825-0936, tiguelaw@msn.com
Bernard Zaleha, Idaho Counsel (208) 342-3489, berniezaleha@pobox.com,
Susan Harrington, sharrington@atheists.org
IDAHO ATHEISTS FILE SUIT AGAINST GOVERNOR KEMPTHORNE; SAY GOVERNOR AND STATE FACILITIES DISCRIMINATE AGAINST IDAHO ATHEIST CITIZENS
AMERICAN ATHEISTS, an Atheist civil rights group, announced today that Idaho Atheists, Inc. and Idaho State Director, Susan Harrington, filed suit today against State Facilities Manager Tim Mason and Governor Dirk Kempthorne.
American Atheists and Idaho Atheists had called on Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne to uphold the United States and Idaho Constitutions and not discriminate nor allow government discrimination on the basis of religion.
After six years of asking the governor to stop his “National Day of Prayer” proclamations every first Thursday in May, and after six years of being denied their own non-religious proclamations, Idaho Atheists reserved the front steps of the Capitol building for May 5th, the first Thursday in May. When the National Day of Prayer organizers discovered the front steps were already reserved this year, they decided to move their event inside the Capitol building.
“However, government state facilities officials have now intervened and stated that it was their mistake and that our Atheist group must give up our spot we obtained legally to give preference to a religious event.” Harrington said. “Even though the National Day of Prayer event wasn’t scheduled when we made our reservations, even though we had been assured that we were following the guidelines, and even though the National Day of Prayer people were going to move their event inside, the state is saying that we Atheists cannot hold our event on the front steps and that we have to move to the side steps.”
“The governor must set the standard of inclusiveness and neutrality with respect to religious opinion or practice. Religious opinion is a personal matter, and the government has no business implying that Atheists are second class citizens because they don’t believe in gods.”
Harrington said. “This latest situation with the state of Idaho simply adds insult to injury to its Atheist citizens. Governor Kempthorne and the State of Idaho go far beyond keeping personal faiths to themselves. They are trying to turn Idaho’s government into a ‘religion bully’ where the state enforces religious belief and discriminates against Atheists. That’s un-American.”
(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)