Houston Mayor's Office Receives Over 500 Bibles In Protest
The mayor of Houston has reportedly been receiving hundreds of Bibles after former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee requested listeners to do so on his show "Huckabee."
On the October 20 airing of "Huckabee," the program's host asked listeners, especially pastors, to send their Bibles and sermons to the office of Houston Mayor Annise Parker after the politician subpoenaed the sermons of five Houston-area pastors to ensure they were not preaching in violation of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, signed by Parker in May.
The ordinance allows the city to subpoena sermons that may be on the "the topics of equal rights, civil rights, homosexuality, or gender identity."
Along with Huckabee, other prominent conservatives including Glenn Beck and Ted Cruz have urged supporters to send their Bibles to Parker.
"I would like to ask every pastor in America, send her your sermons," Huckabee said on his show. "Everybody watching the show ought to send her a Bible."
"This is more dangerous than anything I've ever seen," Beck said on his radio show, referencing the subpoena. "This is not about equal rights. […] This is about shutting people down."
A spokesperson for Parker's office told local media outlets that the mayor has had 500 to 1,000 Bibles sent to her office. Parker told KPRC that although she believes Huckabee and others are trying to boost their ratings, she does think that the Bibles initiate a positive debate on the subpoena process.
The mayor said she thinks the Bible protest is "a very productive way for folks who disagreed with our legal strategy to express that disagreement," adding that she plans to donate the Bible and is "happy to share the Bibles with those who may want them."
