This morning, Tri-State Freethinkers sent an open letter to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin regarding his recent statements made at the Values Voter Conference. TSF additionally invited Mr. Bevin to attend one of their events to better know his secular constituents and discuss some non-violent ways of resolving issues.
The letter was as follows:
Governor Bevin:
We were gravely disturbed by your comments at the Value Voters Conference in Washington D.C. this past Saturday.
“I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” Bevin said during an impassioned speech at the Values Voter Conference in Washington D.C. Saturday. “But that may, in fact, be the case.”
“It’s a slippery slope,” Bevin said. “First, we’re killing children, then it’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ now it’s this gender-bending kind of ‘don’t be a bigot,’ ‘don’t be unreasonable,’ ‘don’t be unenlightened, heaven forbid,’ ‘just keep your mouth shut.’”
“Whose blood will be shed?” Bevin asked. “It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren. I have nine children. It breaks my heart to think that it might be their blood is needed to redeem something, to reclaim something that we, through our apathy and our indifference, have given away. Don’t let it happen.”
This hyperbolic fear-mongering is reminiscent of the dark ages when the Church, feeling threatened by new ideas of science and humanism, called its followers to pick up their pitchforks and resolve things with violence. The slippery slope you refer to is the positive movement toward more inclusive human rights.
You claim you support limited government to make our nation stronger, and yet you would use the law to impose radical Christian beliefs on the people of Kentucky. The government should not tell a woman that she cannot access reproductive health care such as contraception and abortion services. The government should not restrict who can serve in the military or use public restrooms based on sexual orientation or gender identity. You hide behind the guise of religious freedom to deny the most basic human rights to your constituents. If society is moving away from conservative Christian values, it is because they are immoral, and violence is never the answer.
As humanists, we respect a woman’s right to health care, we do not discriminate based on gender identity, sexual orientation, or economic status. The Tri-State Freethinkers invite you to a monthly meeting, so that we may have a discussion about humanist values and non-violent solutions for our problems as a community.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is mocked world-wide as the anti-science capital of the United States, thanks to the recent addition of the radical Christian theme park “Ark Encounter”. We urge you to not drag Kentucky back into the dark ages by encouraging violence and bigotry. Let science and reason guide your decisions instead of ancient mythology that has historically lead to mass genocide and the destruction of human rights.
We look forward to speaking with you.
Sincerely,
Jim G. Helton
President, Tri-State Freethinkers
