KENAI — The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has revived a controversial invocation policy that only allows members of established religious groups to pray at the beginning of meetings.
A vote to delete the policy, which requires religious groups to have a presence in the community before praying at the meetings, failed on Tuesday, The Peninsula Clarion reported.
The Assembly passed the policy in October, overriding a mayoral veto, but in November passed an amendment to delete the policy. Assembly member Blaine Gilman filed for a reconsideration vote which failed, reverting the policy to the one that was passed in October.
The invocation rules have attracted vocal opponents including the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, which has threatened to sue the borough over the policy. On Oct. 20, the group sent a letter to the borough asking that the invocation policy be dropped because it prevents people not part of a religious group or whose groups do not pass the criteria from participating.
Gilman, who originally sponsored the policy in October, said the policy is open to all religious groups, including humanist and atheistic groups. He said the policy is aimed at preventing political groups from giving invocations.
Assembly President Kelly Cooper, who co-sponsored an amendment that would have changed the language of the policy to include groups that meet to share an interest or belief that is “very important to the attendees,” pushed Assembly members to delete the policy.
“This policy would even exclude Jesus Christ from being able to give us an invocation,” Cooper said. “I can’t reconcile how this exclusive policy serves the Assembly or our residents.”
