Religious Favoritism at Work in the Arizona Government?

Report submitted by Amber Sukumaran, Mesa, Arizona, USA

--Amber has a wonderful web site also,
featuring her cross national marriage
to a young Tamil man with some
very good resources for Hindus

www.angelfire.com/az/ambersukumaran

The following article is not an issue that is directly
aimed towards Hindus, but in our town, they are declaring
National Bible Week and it is being endorsed by the
government of Arizona. There are already several other
Christian days being endorsed by the government.
Government should not show favoritism towards
one religion in this country, and other local religious
groups are feeling very underrepresented and
offended in light of this.

The ACLU is fighting this declaration, but Pat Robertson,
whom all Hindus know is very discriminatory against us,
is endorsing the move. He has offered to fight for this National Bible
Week in court, free of cost. For more information on
Pat Robertson's statements against Hindus,
see the Hindu Anti-Defamation sight at
http://www.hindunet.org/anti_defamation/ .

Gov. Jane Hull can be reached at:

Jhull@mail.sosaz.com

if you have any comments for her on this.

Please let this battle be publicly known.

Sincerely, Amber Sukumaran

little_india@hotmail.com

Gilbert 'Bible Week' temporarily halted

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By Edythe Jensen, Jerry Kammer and Chris Moeser

The Arizona Republic Nov. 17, 1998

Hell hath no fury like a constitution scorned.

The Arizona Civil Liberties Union on Monday got a temporary restraining
order in federal court against Gilbert that stops Mayor Cynthia Dunham
from proclaiming Nov. 22-29 "Bible Week" at the Town Council meeting
tonight.

But the suburban mayor and her council are looking like extras in a
religious epic as prominent national groups battle constitutional
church-and-state issues on Gilbert's doorstep.

The Arizona Center for Law and Justice, part of a national law firm
started by evangelist Pat Robertson, is likely to fight the town's cause
at no cost to Gilbert, attorney Gary McCaleb said Monday.

"We are extremely interested in this case, and we think the ACLU is
taking a ridiculous position," he said.

U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver issued the restraining order three
hours after attorneys Timothy Nelson and Victor Sipos filed suit on the
ACLU's behalf. She set a hearing for Friday, and could decide then
whether to sign a permanent injunction.

Gov. Jane Hull was not part of the controversy when, without fanfare,
she proclaimed Arizona Bible Week earlier this month.

But ACLU Director Eleanor Eisenberg said Monday the governor may be the
organization's next target.

Minutes before the court order was issued Monday, Dunham called a news
conference at Gilbert Town Hall and reaffirmed her intentions to
proclaim Bible Week.

Later, town spokesman David Cannella said the mayor hadn't received a
copy of the ACLU's complaint or the federal court injunction before she
held the conference.

"She did say if she is served with a restraining order, she's certainly
not going to break the law," Cannella said.

Although Gilbert could challenge Silver's decision, the Town Council
will decide tonight whether to use tax funds for the legal bills if the
Arizona Center for Law and Justice does not end up paying.

That could bring a parting of political waters; at least three council
members said they're not in favor of spending municipal money to defend
Bible Week, and some want to scrap the proclamation entirely.

"It's offending people," Councilwoman Jo Albright said.

Councilman Dave Crozier disagrees, but doesn't think taxpayer funds
should be used to defend a proclamation.

"I believe Mayor Dunham is right on target with her proclamation," he
said.

At last week's council meeting, resident Ellen Sklar identified herself
as a Jew and Holocaust survivor who finds the proclamation offensive to
non-Christians.

Sklar was one of three plaintiffs listed in the ACLU suit; the others
are her husband, Ellis Sklar, and William Gregory.

Hull refused Monday to rescind her Bible Week proclamation, although she
acknowledged she might handle it differently next year.

The governor said she will consider a "religious scriptures week" next
year instead of focusing only on the Bible. Both the state's and
Gilbert's proposed proclamations state, in part, "The Bible is the
foundational document of the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our
nation was conceived."

"I would hope the governor would reconsider her decision (to proclaim
Bible Week) in light of the court's ruling," Eisenberg said.

She also said the "religious scripture" proposal is unacceptable.

The ruling prohibits Gilbert from proclaiming Bible week "or any similar
religion-related observance."

"The Constitution applies equally to the state of Arizona as it does to
the town of Gilbert," Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg has been trying to meet with Hull but said the governor did
not return her phone calls.

In defending her proclamation, Hull released a stack of similar decrees
from governors and presidents that dated to a Bible proclamation signed
by President Truman in 1952. She ripped the ACLU for filing suit,
suggesting the group was looking for publicity.

Hull said she signs 400 proclamations each year for a variety of groups,
including recognition for the Islamic month of Ramadan, the 50th
anniversary of Israel's independence, the Arizona Day of Prayer, and the
Interfaith Prayer Vigil Week.

As Gilbert officials prepare for controversy over a religious
proclamation, town officials are this week hosting a delegation from its
first sister city -- Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.

Mayor Edward Crilly, from a nation known for its religious battles, will
be at tonight's meeting. He was pictured in the recent Gilbert
newsletter wearing orange -- the designated color for Protestants in
Northern Ireland. Catholics wear green.