Ashjian disqualifies himself for office

What would happen if an atheist on the Fresno Unified School District board said the following:

“You have kids who are extremely moldable at this stage, and if you start telling them that God is real and that Christianity is a way of life, well maybe you just swayed the kid to go that way. It’s so important for parents to teach Atheist philosophies.

“Much like the Christian churches, who silenced, belittled, or even worse, any atheists who dared to question, or stand up to the politically correct voices of the day. I say today, on behalf of our atheist community, no. Not again. Not on my watch.”

Would we support arguments that such speech by a school board member is acceptable? I doubt it. Would we defend it as free speech, or as an attempt to inject personal religious values into the public schools?

I suspect the latter. The opinion as presented is offensive and harmful to children and families, as it disparages the very core of their religious belief systems, something that is outside the purview of a public school board member.

This is why Brooke Ashjian’s comments are a disqualification for his elected office.

This story was originally published September 10, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Ashjian disqualifies himself for office."