Spokane City Council votes 7-0 against religious registry

The Spokane City Council chambers is filled to near capacity on January 30, 2017 as the council prepared to discuss an ordinance that would prevent city employees from complying with federal orders to create a registry of citizens based on religious beliefs. (Kip Hill / The Spokesman-Review)

MONDAY, JAN. 30, 2017, 11:05 P.M.
By Kip Hill

An impassioned crowd that spilled out of the City Council chambers Monday night mostly implored lawmakers to pass a law that would prohibit Spokane employees from assisting in the creation of a registry based on religious preference.

And the Spokane City Council did just that – unanimously. To the sound of cheers and applause, the council voted 7-0 to approve an ordinance that outlaws any city employee from participating in the development of “a program that requires, or has the effect of requiring, persons to register on the basis of religious affiliation, belief, or conduct.”

“We have many refugees, and people of different faiths, who live in our community, and they are scared,” City Council President Ben Stuckart said.

Opponents accused Stuckart of grandstanding for political purposes and making a boogeyman out of President Donald Trump.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jan/30/spokane-city-council-to-ask-employees-not-to-compl/