Yesterday, I posted about how La Vista (Nebraska) Mayor Douglas Kindig (below) allegedly told an atheist to “take me to fucking court because I don’t care” and “Minorities are not going to run my city” after the atheist expressed concerns about possible church/state violations at a “Faith & Freedom Day” hosted by the city.
Late last night, the Mayor’s office issued a statement to a local news station. Far from an apology, the Mayor doesn’t even admit saying those words (though it is implied):
“I am truly sorry that my response to this representative caused backlash against the City. I was coming out of a very emotional event at which local veterans who were killed in action were recognized, and my reaction was certainly emotional in nature. It is my hope all sides can move forward together,” said Kindig.
Everyone could move forward if Kindig would offer an honest apology instead of asking everyone to just forget about what he said. While the event may have been emotional, the preparation leading up to it allowed for ample time to make sure no laws were being violated. His staff either didn’t know about the legal problems or didn’t care. Either way, they need to promise it won’t happen again.
Just to be clear, the Omaha Atheists don’t want to file any lawsuit. They would prefer to have a conversation with the Mayor before taking any drastic steps.
As of this writing, the Mayor hasn’t reached out directly to Robert Fuller (to whom his comments were directed) or any of the other atheists in the group.
