This is insane
ASHEVILLE – North Carolina’s constitution is clear: politicians who deny the existence of God are barred from holding office.
Opponents of Cecil Bothwell are seizing on that law to argue he should not be seated as a City Council member today, even though federal courts have ruled religious tests for public office are unlawful under the U.S. Constitution.
Voters elected the writer and builder to the council last month.
“I’m not saying that Cecil Bothwell is not a good man, but if he’s an atheist, he’s not eligible to serve in public office, according to the state constitution,” said H.K. Edgerton, a former Asheville NAACP president.
Article 6, section 8 of the state constitution says: “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.”</em>
When I first encountered this story, I kept rereading it to try and find a byline from The Onion or Dailymash, but alas, never did. I found it staggeringly hard to believe that in our over educated nation such a ridiculous “law” exists. Ok, to state this simply:
There is no god.
Or there is.
But no one alive on earth has any idea, and since God cannot be proven, it isn’t a fact, hence you can’t say one way or the other. And to deny an elected official his office because he chooses to not believe in your FSM of choice? That’s insane, indefensible, and of course completely unconstitutional.
I have friends who count themselves among the believers, and more power to ‘em. They might be right. I don’t happen to think so, but hey, how do I know? I don’t. Neither do they.
This might be the saddest, most anti-American, anti-intelligence thing I’ve read in my life.
