I want to thank the Clark County council for making the invocation policy more inclusive to people of all faiths, or no faith. This includes atheists like me, Wiccans and Satanists.
I am not opposed to anyone expressing their beliefs. As long as religious obstinance by elected officials doesn’t cloud their judgment, openly favor belief over nonbelief, create unnecessary division, or put the community at legal risk, they are free to express their faith freely. Simply put, that is the separation between state and religion I expect.
I was never against invocations. Personally, I think they’re a waste of time. But in the 2014 Greece v. Galloway decision, the Supreme Court allowed invocations as long as they are open to all residents.
Throughout this process, neither I, nor the Freedom From Religion Foundation, ever threatened to sue the county. In fact, I was concerned that the discriminatory policy written and approved by David Madore and Tom Mielke placed the county at risk of being sued, and so I brought this to the council’s attention in February.
Although this process took longer than I thought it should, with a few bumps along the way, I think the council did the right thing.
