Shane Fuhrman, mayor of Silverton, Colorado, has stopped the Pledge of Allegiance from being recited at town meetings.
"Due to direct and indirect threats, inappropriate comments in and out of public meetings, and the general divisiveness this is creating in our community, we will not be doing the Pledge of Allegiance during town of Silverton board of trustee meetings," Fuhrman said, according to The Durango Herald. "And it’s removed from agendas and our protocols until such time that we can discuss this at a board retreat or workshop."
Despite his order, about nine people, including two board members, recited the pledge during a recent meeting.
When they were done, Fuhrman said they were out of order and warned they would be forced to leave if there were any further disruptions, the newspaper said.
The Herald said Silverton is a town of about 550 people in the San Juan Mountains.
KDVR-TV in Denver reported Silverton Trustee Molly Barela strongly opposed the mayor’s directive.
"We already discussed this as a board, and any other unilateral decisions we need to know about?" she asked the mayor.
Fuhrman replied: "If you’d like to find somewhere in the code, something that doesn’t permit me to do this, then I welcome that discussion at our next meeting."
Barela said the decision was made without the board’s input.
"It’s been done for a long time," she said. "We all took an oath, and we as a board we decided it would be done."
And she told KDVR: "Back in April 2020 when the newest board members were seated the mayor brought it up that he didn’t want to do the Pledge of Allegiance anymore because it’s not really a thing, it was a 4/3 vote that we continue to do it.
"By going back to in person meetings it changes the dynamic compared to what was happening on Zoom. While on Zoom the three individuals who chose not to say the Pledge of Allegiance would just turn off their cameras. Now that we’ve gone back to in person meetings members of the general population, especially those who are veterans, have been questioning why would you run for office and take an oath to uphold the laws of the United States of America the state of Colorado, and the town of Silverton if you won’t stand for the pledge."
Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in a tweet last week, blasted Fuhrman’s decision.
She wrote: "Silverton, CO’s Mayor unilaterally banned the Pledge of Allegiance at city meetings. It’s hard to put into words what kind of anti-American disgrace this is. Mayor Fuhrman should resign and purchase a one-way ticket to China where he won’t have worry about hearing the pledge!"
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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