Congressional Candidate Declares Islam Not Protected By First Amendment Because It Is Not A Religion

Lynne Torgerson is running against Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison. She is an independent candidate with a bit of a wild streak. And, I’m not talking about her wild hair which appears to be on a permanently bad hair day.

Torgerson opposes abortion. She believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.  She is a strong supporter of gun rights. So far, one would label Torgeson as a conservative, but she does not fit that mold with her other positions.

She favors a public option on health care. She is against genetically altered foods and calls herself “pro-animal.” She opposes nuclear energy and supports alternative energy sources.

There is no way to peg Torgerson as either liberal or conservative. She does fit the independent label by somehow crafting evangelical Christian beliefs with solidly liberal views. She can be respected for how she does that, but when it comes to discussing Ellison, Torgerson goes off the deep end.

Ellison is a Muslim. For Torgerson, that is something unimaginable.

Torgerson believes that Islam is not a religion because the Quran advocates criminal behavior like the killing of infidels.

Because 19 Muslims flew planes into American landmarks on 9/11, Torgerson is convinced that all Muslims have declared war against the United States.

Of course, Torgerson said there are good Muslims, but she cannot find them, even though her diatribe mentions meeting Muslims “who to me seem like very nice, good people.”

In Torgeson’s mind, Keith Ellison is not one of them.

She gives a slew of reasons why Ellison should not be a Congressman, which is fine because she is running against him. However, the overriding reason that Torgerson believes Ellison should not be in Congress is because he is a Muslim. In America’s “zeal” to promote minorities and other disenfranchised groups to public office, Torgerson states “we went to (sic) far with Keith Ellison.” Her contention is that Ellison does not “live in alleigance (sic) to it [United States] and its values.”

One may agree or disagree with Ellison’s politics, but the scary part is Torgerson failure to understand the First Amendment or hold her own Christian faith to the same level as Ellison’s Muslim faith.

Both the Bible and Quran have numerous passages condoning murder, slavery and other behavior unacceptable to our modern mores. Torgerson does not see that. She only sees what she wants to see, and that includes determining what religion means in the First Amendment.

The First Amendment is supposed to be a tool of tolerance, not an anvil to hammer forth weapons of hate. Someone needs to tell Lynne Torgerson to reread the First Amendment — the Bible and Quran as well.