Action taken on lawmaker who stole Bibles and hid them
Bible allegedly stolen by Arizona state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton was found in a refrigerator. (Arizona House of Representatives)
A state lawmaker in Arizona formally has been censured by the state House of Representatives for taking Bibles from a House members' lounge and hiding them, under sofa cushions and in a refrigerator.
A plan to expel her from the body entirely was votes short.
A report from the Arizona Mirror said the House voted 30-28 to censure Stephania Stahl Hamilton, a Democrat, for her attack on Christianity.
The Tucson politician had been videotaped earlier taking Bibles from the lounge and hiding them underneath sofa cushions. Another she placed in a refrigerator.
A subsequent complaint cited her for theft and disorderly conduct.
The report said the House Ethics Committee concluded she should be punished for disorderly conduct.
She had claimed, when she was caught, her actions were a protest against the lack of separation between church a state.
Democrats defended Hamilton, with Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, characterizing her as a "volunteer, mother and a Presbyterian minister," the report said.
WND reported when the case developed that the Democrat was targeted with ridicule by her fellow lawmakers.
:"She doesn't 'place bibles,' she steals the Bibles from the House Member's Lobby and hides them around the building," charged Rep. Justin Heap.
#StealinStephanie https://t.co/1QrZn5JQln
— Rep. Austin Smith (@azaustinsmith) April 25, 2023
This is the weirdest story at the Capitol. Rep Hamilton-Stahl(D) is an ordained "minister" who hates Bibles. She regularly steals the Bibles out of the Lounge & hides them under chairs, in the frig, beneath cushions etc. If only the Bible had something to say about stealing... https://t.co/86IdF8LySb
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) April 26, 2023
Another lawmaker called the situation "weird and disturbing," and Sen. TJ Shope explained, "This is all just really bizarre guys. Like, I'm truly just flabbergasted here."
This is really weird and disturbing… https://t.co/tD0AFB2Tky
— Rep. Austin Smith (@azaustinsmith) April 25, 2023
Pro-Tempore Speaker Travis Grantham explained the video shows someone "who’s got some purpose and some intent, and they know they’re doing something bad…For an ordained minister to do that, again, it’s nonsensical. I have no clarity as to why it happened."
Social media comments included:
"She's an ordained Democrat. That is her religion."
"Dems just can't stop stealing – bibles, elections, our freedoms, our tax dollars, unborn babies' lives, etc etc etc."
And "CRIMINAL theft charges need to be filed."
The room is set up for members to retreat to take a telephone call or meet with other members or staff between votes.
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When Bibles repeatedly disappeared from the lounge, lawmakers set up a camera, and it caught her in the act.
Lawmakers said the body lacked the votes to expel her.
IMPORTANT NOTE: “Election denier!” “Science denier!” “Climate-change denier!” “Conspiracy theorist!” And then there’s “hate speech,” “fake news,” “disinformation,” “misinformation,” even something called “MALinformation.” A bizarre new lexicon has been conjured up by America’s elites, the SOLE PURPOSE of which is to discredit and ridicule – and if at all possible, CENSOR ENTIRELY – speech that doesn’t support their increasingly dark and deranged agenda. Tucker Carlson is just the latest.
In the greatest imaginable irony, the nation once boasting the most robust culture of freedom of speech and the press – undergirded by the strongest constitutional protections for those rights – is now ground zero for a total war on free expression.
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