Wisconsin County Supervisor Makes Proposal To Eliminate 'Divisive' Pledge Of Allegiance From Board Meetings
One Wisconsin county supervisor has submitted a proposal to eliminate the Pledge of Allegiance and the word "prayer" from county board meetings, calling it divisive.
Per Fox 6 in Milwaukee, the board's executive committee will consider Dane County supervisor Heidi Wegleitner's proposal at a meeting Thursday.
"It just doesn’t feel like it’s appropriate for us to be doing, when in a pluralistic society we want to be inclusive and representative," Wegleitner said. "At the end of the day, I think it’s divisive."
Wegleitner argues that there is an inconsistency in which area governmental bodies recite the pledge at the beginning of meetings. She says that while municipalities such as Fitchburg, Sun Prairie and Verona take part in reciting the pledge, others such as Madison and Waunakee do not.
Board member Tim Rockwell is opposed to Wegleitner's proposal and argued that praying at the start of meetings makes the board more inclusive.
"This is all in the same city that is home to the Freedom From Religion Foundation," said Rockwell, who cited that more than 45% of the county is religious.
Rockwell added that the county's religious diversity should be "celebrated and not squashed."
The final decision on the proposal will be made on April 5.
Follow Nick Geddes on Twitter @NickGeddesNews and on Instagram @nick.geddes.