Rep. Rick Allen plants religious seed in infertile soil
Just days after handily defeating challenger Eugene Yu, Congressman Rick Allen has some of us down here in the 12th district wondering why there wasn’t a third, more reasonable, option.
Various D.C.-based media sources are reporting that Congressman Allen made waves when he began reciting Bible verses in a closed-door meeting condemning the LGBT lifestyle following the vote on anti-discrimination language attached to legislation Thursday.
The Hill reports:
Rep. Rick Allen, a Georgia freshman, launched the GOP’s regular policy meeting in the Capitol basement by reading a Bible passage condemning homosexuality and suggesting that supporters of the LGBT provision, which passed the House the night before, were defying Christian tenets, attendees said.
Sponsored by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the provision stipulates that nothing in the underlying spending bills can undermine President Obama’s executive order barring discrimination by government contractors based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
And Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Charlie Dent told the Washington Post, “I thought the comments were wildly out of bounds and especially inappropriate given that this was supposed to be a prayer.”
The suggestion that the support of the anti-discrimination language made the representatives sinners prompted several Congressmen and their aides to leave the meeting.
The thing Congressman Allen doesn’t understand, however, is that he has his religious seeds firmly planted in the wrong field. The language he was protesting merely prevented the government from discriminating against its contractors on the basis of sexual preference or sexual identity. This shouldn’t be a bipartisan issue because it isn’t one. The federal government should never, under any circumstance, have the ability to discriminate against anyone.
The Republican Party has immense problems that, right now, run extremely deep and span across all factions. Suggesting that those who do not agree with you are sinners in an effort to condemn them is precisely why Republicans continue to lose. I said in early 2015 that had John Barrow not left the 12th district for Athens, he could have run again and won, despite the now-Republican drawn district. I still believe that to be true.
Congressman Allen owes his colleagues an apology and his constituents an explanation as to why he’s telling us he works to build consenus all the time, but his actions show otherwise.
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Jessica Szilagyi
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Such talk is better suited to a Congressional Christian Prayer Group rather than a republican policy meeting. Coincidentally, I heard Paul Broun quoting Bible verse on a N Ga. radio station this morning.
@gcp such talk is best left in a church. Prayer Groups are best left at home, as well. The People’s Business has nothing to do with any particular doctrine.
gcp,
Do you not think this flies in the face of taxation without representation, a major factor, for our own revolution against the British? Could not gay people argue, they should not pay taxes, if they do not have equal access, to government contracts?
Never said if I was for or against the legislation. I just said the remarks were made in the wrong forum.
I respect your opinion, just was curious.
Simple concept, all races, religions, sexual orientation…..pay taxes, should not all have equal access? I am 100 percent against Affirmative Action, but a 100 percent for equal access by merit.
Perhaps the congressman would like to quote some other Old Testament like how a woman who is raped and doesn’t cry out should be stoned, or horses, donkeys, and fools should all be beaten. And don’t forget it is also chock full of advice and laws on the proper treatment of your slaves. Picking and choosing your Old Testament is fraught with landmines but most important you need to pick and choose the proper time and place.
It should be noted that similar Biblical quotes and messages were conveyed in the last session of the Georgia legislature under the guise of “opening prayers”. There is no semblance of justice in the lawmaking like RFRA when it is so obviously adhering to one narrowly interpreted view of one religion, or in Georgia’s case mostly one denomination of that religion.
I know the The Eiger……goes crazy, when I point out all the hate groups associated with RFRA. It is a real issue as you pointed out. I give you a lot of credit for speaking out.
It’s absolutely abhorrent for a legislator to read a text that calls for a specific group’s death.
(It’s absolutely abhorrent for a legislator to use a biblical text as the rationale for a civil law, too, but that’s far less worrisome than his calling for certain people’s deaths.)
What a complete jackass.
One thing: Rep. Maloney’s amendment does go further than described here. It’s not about the government not discriminating against contractors, but instead requires government contractors not to discriminate against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity.