WL City Council denounces Lt. Gov. Beckwith’s ‘hate’ aimed at Muslims
Council condemns ‘elected officials who use their position to favor one religion while intimidating those who practice others.’ Plus, WL contingent heads to Korea. Leadership change at United Way.
Support for this edition of Based in Lafayette comes from the Wabash River Cycle Club. On Saturday, Aug. 22, the Wabash River Ride will start from Fort Ouiatenon with routes reaching into Warren and Fountain counties. Starting with a 16-mile “ride-for-all,” and increasing distances to 32, 62 and 100 miles, there are distances for everyone. There are routes for road bikers and gravel grinders, and the bike tour is fully supported with well-stocked SAG (support and gear) stops, mobile support and two yummy food trucks supplying a post-ride meal until 5:30 p.m. The Wabash River Ride is truly your adventure, your choice. To register or for more information, go to www.wabashriverride.com
WEST LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL DENOUNCES LT. GOV. BECKWITH’S ‘HATE’ AIMED AT MUSLIMS
West Lafayette City Council members issued a statement Monday condemning recent comments by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who in the past few weeks has issued “permission” to hate as he called Islam a “demonic death cult.”
The city council’s statement, read by council member Kathy Parker at the end of the council’s monthly meeting, called out Beckwith and stood with West Lafayette’s Muslim community.
“We raise our voices here to categorically condemn hateful, bigoted, inflammatory rhetoric that encourages violence, and elected officials who use their position to favor one religion while intimidating those who practice others,” Parker read from the council’s response.
“To our Muslim neighbors here in West Lafayette and beyond, we are grateful for you,” the statement said. “For your presence, your generosity, your welcoming spirit, and for everything you contribute to making this city a kinder and better place for all of us. And we will not be silent when someone with power tries to make you feel otherwise.”
The statement was signed by the nine members of the West Lafayette City Council, along with Mayor Erin Easter. All 10 are Democrats.
Beckwith has shot back at critics several times since joining a panel for an interview on a podcast called “Flashpoint,” where he appeared in a polo shirt emblazoned with the seal of his lieutenant governor’s office, saying: “We’re giving people permission to hate again, and I know that sounds a little harsh at first, but we’ve seen this movement to eradicate hate in our culture, that is the worst thing we could do.” He followed that by focusing on Islam: “If radical jihadi mindset starts coming into our state, I’m going to hate it, and I’m going to hate it with everything that I am. … I’m going to call on others to hate it, because I hate Islam. It’s a demonic death cult.”
Beckwith, who is a pastor at a Noblesville church, also said: “I love Muslims, because they make great Christians when Jesus gets a hold of them, but I hate Islam.”
Beckwith since then has called out his critics, including Indianapolis Jewish community leaders who signed onto an interfaith statement condemning his comments. He called them “misguided.”
After Monday’s city council meeting, Parker said the statement came after she received calls from the community asking the city council whether it would stand for that sort of comment from the lieutenant governor.
“I thought about, Do we give him more attention right now or do we not give him the attention?” Parker said. “But when the Muslim community asks us to address it, I think we should. … None of what he’s saying is what Jesus said, and he knows it. But that man continues to just buckle down and has no remorse and thinks he represents what Indiana thinks. We want to say, well, no, he doesn’t.”
The city council’s statement says it is “resolute in our belief that all residents deserve to live in the United States without fear of hatred sanctioned by their own government.”
How Beckwith’s comments unfolded since his initial interview included another West Lafayette twist in a feuding back-and-forth with state Sen. Spencer Deery, a West Lafayette Republican.
Deery, a West Lafayette Republican, now in the midst of a recount challenge by a Beckwith-backed Paula Copenhaver from the May 5 primary, posted a response May 29 to an Indianapolis Star story about the controversy: “The Republican Party should be the natural home for all devout Americans of faith. The United States has traditionally been — and must always remain — the most welcoming nation in the world for the free exercise of religion. Rhetoric like this from the second-highest official in Indiana’s executive branch makes the first impossible and threatens America’s standing in the second. Hoosiers and the conservative movement deserve better.”
Beckwith bit back, referencing a May 5 primary that saw five incumbent state senators lose after being targeted by President Donald Trump for their stances on a failed redistricting plan, writing: “To be clear GOP State Senator Spencer Deery just said we should welcome an ideology that throws gays off of buildings and subjugates women as second class citizens to Indiana. He thinks it’s the ‘conservative pro-America’ thing to bring sharia law into the Hoosier state. A REPUBLICAN not condemning Islam is why his squishy Senate caucus just got their butts kicked on May 5th … and his race isn’t over yet either. Hopefully that butt kicking sends him packing too. We don’t need weak senators like this guy welcoming evil from around the world into our Hoosier communities. Do better Spencer.”
Deery responded later that day: “Defending the Constitution is not defending Sharia law. It’s our defense against it. You and I both took an oath to defend the Indiana and U.S. Constitutions. Have you read it recently?”
Asked later about how the exchange escalated, Deery said: “His comments were so out of bounds for someone in his position that someone needed to speak up.”
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
WEST LAFAYETTE MAYOR, CITY OFFICIALS HEAD TO SOUTH KOREA TO SEE SK HYNIX SITES: A contingent of West Lafayette city officials were scheduled to leave Tuesday for South Korea to visit SK hynix facilities as construction continues on the northern edge of the city of the company’s $3.87 billion high-bandwidth memory assembly and R&D plant.
