Christian nationalists voted to censure Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton over her prank hiding Bibles in the Senate members’ lounge. A censure by the chamber is an expression of sincere disapproval but carries no penalty.
A motion made to expel Stahl-Hamilton fell well short of the needed 2/3 majority. On her analysis on Substack, Secular AZ Executive Director Jeanne Casteen noted: “this was wholly […] performative, but many majority members LOVE them some performative political theater, so this tracks.”
Democrats defending Stahl-Hamilton included Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, who noted that only Bibles are kept in the lounge, not the Quran or other religious texts.
Rep. David Cook (R) was the lone Republican who voted against the censure, making statements in support of Stahl-Hamilton’s character and favoring separating church and state. His vote against party lines may have been enough to stop the censure had Democrats Alma Hernandez (LD-20) and Stacey Travers (D-12) been in attendance to vote no.
Last session, the Senate voted to censure Wendy Rogers for making anti-semitic comments. However, the censure carried no consequences, as Rogers wasn’t stripped of committee assignments and could still vote in committee and on the floor. Jeanne Casteen pondered: “While I wonder if the rules will be the same when a Democrat is the one being censured? Guess we’ll find out.”
Read the unfiltered breakdown of the proceedings on our Substack.