PHOENIX — A nonbinary Democratic lawmaker lashed out Monday at a Republican representative for using his prayer on the House floor for “weaponizing religion to condemn our constituents.’’
Rep. Lorena Austin of Mesa said it was inappropriate for Rep. Lupe Diaz, who also is pastor of Grace Chapel in Benson, to use the opportunity of offering the daily prayer to talk about President Joe Biden’s declaration of March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility. That day also was Easter, the holiest day of the western Christian calendar.
Rep. Lorena Austin, D-Mesa
“His judgment is going to come upon those who are sinners and unrighteous,’’ Diaz said of God. “And we find that true in the Old Testament when he judged Sodom and Gomorrah.’’
“Our nation is declaring itself as an unrighteous nation with this proclamation,” Diaz said.
Austin, in a floor speech, said the complaint about Biden, which also has played out on a national stage, ignores the fact that Biden has made the same declaration of March 31 for years.
Easter, Austin pointed out, has moved around the calendar, being set in western churches as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter will be on April 20 next year, Austin said.
The state House begins each day with a prayer, and individual lawmakers of all faiths can ask to deliver it.
But what Diaz did in his four minutes, Austin said, was not a prayer.
“I want to remind members of this body that this is not a church,’’ Austin said. “This is the Arizona House of Representatives. And a prayer is not a sermon.’’
Diaz, in his comments about the presidential proclamation, said what happened Sunday shows “the contrast of light and darkness.’’
“Jesus had to die on the cross for our sins,’’ he said. “That means that there is right and wrong. And for our president to go ahead and proclaim yesterday as, and really, really highlight the fact that it was Transgender Day of Visibility, it contrasts that light and darkness.’’
Diaz said God shows no partiality. “But in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him,’’ he continued. “So what that tells me is that those who work unrighteousness are not accepted by him.’’
Austin responded later in her floor speech, “We should not be using prayer as a vehicle to condemn people who may not share your views.”
“The Jesus I learned about and the God I learned about was a benevolent one,’’ said Austin. “It was one that did not condemn others for being who they area but welcome them.” Austin called Diaz’s comments “disheartening.’’
Austin cited a recent study from the Public Religion Research Institute. It said about two-thirds of those who leave a faith tradition said they did so because they stopped believing in that religion’s teaching. It also said nearly half of those questioned who had left their religion cited negative teaching about the treatment of LGBTQ individuals.
Diaz did not respond to multiple messages asking him to comment about what he said on the House floor.
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