There is a Phoenix City Council meeting being called for this Wednesday February 3, at 2:30 p.m. after 4 Phoenix City Council members called for an emergency clause which would address issues that have arisen as a result of the outrage by residents over news that the Satanic Temple would be delivering the invocation at an upcoming Phoenix City Council meeting.
According to Councilman Sal DeCiccio in a message to constiuents, “Politically correct politicians pushing Satanic Prayer at council meeting for “diversity and inclusivity” about to get pushed back.”
DiCiccio claims that the “satanic prayer was a deliberate attempt by some Phoenix politicians pushing “diversity and inclusivity.”
DiCiccio says he worked on a plan with Councilmen Michael Nowakowski, Jim Waring and Bill Gates to stop this “nonsense.”
The plan includes forcing the city council members to “be out front and put their own names on it.” That means that the Council will be forced to go on the record in support or against the Satanists.
Under the direction of Mayor Greg Stanton, City Attorney Brad Holm claimed that city cannot dictate religious viewpoints or the content of a prayer.” The move appeared to many part of an effort to force the prayer portion of meetings out altogether. That belief is bolstered by the fact that the Satanist group doesn;t actually believe in Satan.
Holm wrote, “In addition, government may not exclude a denomination or a religion from praying under these circumstances,” but it is not required to allow non-residents to give the invocation.
As it turns out, the Satanists are from Tucson instead of Phoenix. The Satanic Temple, and its leaders Michelle Shortt and Stu de Haan, were to give the invocation at the February 17th council meeting.