PHOENIX — State Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, lead a protest on the Arizona State House floor Tuesday against Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, for allegedly mocking her personal belief.
On Monday, Salman delivered the invocation which starts each day of floor activity at the Capitol.
Salman delivered a “secular prayer.”
She claimed that Kavanagh mocked her when he responded to her prayer by introducing “God” as his guest in the gallery.
According to American Atheists, Salman is “the only openly atheist female state legislator in the country.”
Kavanagh is a former police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
Salman, and her partner, State Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe, are currently promoting his bill, SB1463, which targets the faith-based Alliance Defending Freedom and the “In God We Trust” specialty license plates.
Alliance Defending Freedom, along with other conservative Christian groups, has been identified by the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center as a “hate group.”
Another faith-based group, Family Research Council, came under attack from a deranged shooter who wounded a security guard in August 2012, after the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled it as a hate group.
Alliance Defending Freedom receives a portion of the fees generated by the purchase of those plates.
Watch Salman deliver “secular prayer” and Kavanagh’s response:
Rep. Salman was protesting Rep. Kavanagh's response to this invocation on Monday during Secular Day at the Arizona Capitol. Kavanagh's mocking response follows the invocation. #AZLEG pic.twitter.com/FwR1wImprF
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) February 12, 2019
Must watch: Rep. @AthenaSalman powerful protest of Rep. John Kavanagh’s mocking response to her secular invocation (which she had delivered during Monday’s House floor session). #AZLeg pic.twitter.com/vwtUPTduRG
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) February 12, 2019