Kyrsten Sinema broke the mold in a lot of ways this Thursday morning.
The Democrat from Arizona became the first openly bisexual in the Senate and Arizona’s first female senator. She’s also the second openly LGBT senator, with Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin being the first.
In a picture showing the ultra-Christian conservative Vice President Mike Pence swearing her in, the Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta noticed that she had her hand on a “lawbook” (according to Getty Images), and not the customary bible that so many elected politicians prefer.
💙💜.@kyrstensinema, the first openly bisexual Senator in U.S. history, has been sworn into office. Looking like a BOSS. 🏳️🌈✊ pic.twitter.com/Jc4cRX42wM — Logo 🏳️🌈 (@LogoTV) January 3, 2019
Sinema is not openly non-religious, but she does list herself as “unaffiliated” when it comes to any form of religion. The move will likely ignite speculation as to whether or not she’s an atheist.
Pence ended the oath with the traditional words, “so help you God?” and Sinema responded, “I do.”
A spokesman for Sinema said she used a book from the Library of Congress containing the texts of the U.S. and Arizona constitutions. The spokesman didn’t comment on her religious views, AZCentral reports.
The irony of Pence, whose anti-gay views and fundamentalist Christian ideology are of public record, administering the oath to a likely secular and openly bisexual woman made huge waves across the internet and social media.
“I imagine Vice President Mike Pence, who administered the oath, died a little on the inside,” Mehta wrote on Thursday.
“Homophobe Mike Pence had to swear in Kyrsten Sinema, the first out bisexual Senator in history, on a law book and not a bible. He seems uncomfortable and she’s having fun with it,” political activist Adam Best tweeted. “This is everything.”
Mike Pence: I find you horrifying. Kyrsten Sinema: Right back at you. pic.twitter.com/wqcDVSCHk3 — Thor Benson (@thor_benson) January 4, 2019
“Surely Pence then ran home and prayed with ‘Mother’ about having to stand so close to a pawn of Satan,” Twitter user @Adipositivity wrote. “A smart, funny, smokin’ hot [spawn] of Satan.”
The LGBT website PinkNews called the moment an “awkward pairing.”
Sinema also opted not to use a Bible in her swearing-in-ceremony for the 113th Congress back in 2013. That time, she placed her hand on a copy of the Constitution.
Although some religious conservatives may argue otherwise, the U.S. Constitution clearly states that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” As Mehta points out, at least four presidents and numerous other public officials have been sworn into office without putting their hands on a bible.
Watch the moment in the video below, via The Hill.
[This article has been updated] Featured image via screen grab
JohannGoethe on January 4th, 2019 at 05:59 UTC »
All US leaders should swear on the god-free US Constitution, just as John Q. Adams did in 1825, when he swore his oath on a book of law instead of the Bible, because he wanted to make it clear that he was protecting the US constitution and the laws of the US above all else.
AskJayce on January 4th, 2019 at 04:15 UTC »
I can't wait until we finally reach a point where people swearing over the constitution or some sort of law book over the bible isn't as out-of-the-blue as swearing over Captain America's shield.
orr250mph on January 4th, 2019 at 02:13 UTC »
Pence: You're going to hell.
Sinema: That's why I'm here.