Iowa's Gov Kim Reynolds promoted a Bible reading day. Then the Satanic Temple said "us too". Now rules keep changin [View all]

The Satanic Temple in Iowa just wanted to hold a two-day reading of “Paradise Lost” outside the Tama County Courthouse.

Officials there changed the rules to make sure that never happens again. One of them lamented that the rule change is "sad because it affects the good people."




https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/after-satanic-event-at-iowa-courthouse

After Satanic event at Iowa courthouse, local leaders want to change the rules (again)
For the second time, a reading event sponsored by The Satanic Temple has prompted a policy change by Christians in elected office

The new rules said events inside the Capitol couldn’t last longer than one day. They also capped events sponsored by any group to one a year—which meant Satanists would have to choose between holding a one-day reading of “Paradise Lost” or having a display inside the Capitol this December. Finally, the new agreement prohibited any events inside the Capitol that might be deemed “obscene,” which could open the door to future free speech lawsuits.

In any case, The Satanic Temple wasn’t going to let that stop them. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds had signed a proclamation declaring an “Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon,” and the Satanists had every intention of holding their own multi-day reading event in response.

Instead of using the Capitol, they requested and received space to hold a two-day reading outside the Tama County Courthouse in Toledo on September 16 and 17. They got the approval they needed, though there was some confusion with their request since the county’s Board of Supervisors thought they were saying yes to a Bible-reading event:

“I said that we would like to hold a ‘Paradise Lost’ reading marathon on the Tama County Courthouse lawn,” [Satanic Temple Minister Mortimer Adramelech] said. “The Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon was brought up, and I said that our event was similar in concept. It was never my intention to mislead anyone about the nature of our event.”