Pledge of Allegiance
Source: Silverton, Colorado Board of Trustees Meeting screenshot via Zoom

A Colorado Mayor unilaterally banned the Pledge of Allegiance at city meetings. In an immediate show of defiance, members of the public and the Board of Trustees almost immediately stood and recited it anyway as the Mayor threatened to call everyone out of order. 

Mayor Shane Fuhrman made this decision without approval from the Board. The elected officials previously discussed and rejected  the idea but the Mayor pushed his anti-Pledge agenda. 

Mayor Bans Pledge of Allegiance

“Due to direct and indirect threats, inappropriate comments in and out of public meetings, and the general divisiveness this is creating in our community, we will not be doing the Pledge of Allegiance during town of Silverton board of trustee meetings,” the Mayor said at the beginning of Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting. 

“We already discussed this as a board, and any other unilateral decisions we need to know about?” Silverton Trustee Molly Barela piped back.

“If you’d like to find somewhere in the code, something that doesn’t permit me to do this, then I welcome that discussion at our next meetings,” Mayor Fuhrman said.

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“It’s been done for a long time. We all took an oath, and we as a board we decided it would be done,” Barela replied.

But, a savvy member of the public used her time during public comments to say the pledge. Others in the room joined in, much to the chagrin of the Mayor.

He threatened to call them out of order if it happens again. 

You can watch the exchange between Mayor Fuhrman and Trustee Barela in the tweeted video below.

It’s hard to imagine a Mayor attempting to ban citizens from saying the Pledge of Allegiance during public comments.

It’s their First Amendment right to say what they want. But, the Pledge of Allegiance must be Mayor Fuhrman’s kryptonite.

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Silverton Trustee Molly Barela’s Statement

Barela issued a statement to the media promising to hold the rogue Mayor’s feet to the fire on this issue:

“Back in April 2020 when the newest board members were seated the mayor brought it up that he didn’t want to do the Pledge of Allegiance anymore because it’s not really a thing, it was a 4/3 vote that we continue to do it. By going back to in person meetings it changes the dynamic compared to what was happening on zoom. While on zoom the three individuals who chose not to say the Pledge of Allegiance would just turn off their cameras now that we’ve gone back to in person meetings[,] members of the general population especially those who are veterans have been questioning why would you run for office and take an oath to uphold the laws of the United States of America the state of Colorado and the town of Silverton if you won’t stand for the pledge. Members of the public have told them that they should be ashamed of themselves. I personally didn’t like his unilateral decision, when we as a collective group had already decided over a year ago to continue to do the pledge, I don’t know if it was premeditated to have it done on Flag Day, which we all know that was declared June 14, 1777 by the second continental Congress, now mayor Shane Fuhrman has made this first amendment right issue. To tell members of the public they are not allowed to say the Pledge of Allegiance during public comment and threaten to have them removed that it was a one strike in you’re out policy violates every single one of their first amendment rights.”

Video of Pledge of Allegiance At Silverton, Colorado Meeting

Video of the Pledge of Allegiance is in the tweet below. 

When the crowd stands and starts reciting the pledge, they drown out the mayor’s comments. All he can do is sit there and wait for them to finish.

At the end of the video above, you can hear the mayor saying, “I note that that’s out of order. We did have a one cite policy, but I’m not going to ask everyone to leave tonight, but if it happens again, we will.”

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