Indiana Deserves a Lieutenant Governor for All Hoosiers, Not Just Evangelicals

Dear Representative, Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith has publicly declared, “I hate Islam, it’s a demonic death cult,” and stated that Hoosiers need “permission to hate again.” He doubled down after the backlash. These were not off-the-cuff remarks — they were broadcast on a national program and reaffirmed on his official social media. This is disqualifying conduct for a sitting constitutional officer. The Lieutenant Governor swears an oath to serve every Hoosier — Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, secular, and otherwise. He does not get to ration the dignity of his office to the citizens whose faith he personally approves of. When the second-highest official in the state tells the public it is acceptable, even righteous, to hate an entire religious community, he invites harassment and violence against his own constituents. That is a direct failure of the duties of his office. I am calling on the Indiana Senate to begin proceedings under Article 6, Section 7 of the Indiana Constitution to remove Lieutenant Governor Beckwith from office for negligence in the discharge of his duties. At a minimum, I expect the Senate to formally censure him and demand a public retraction. This is not about theology. He is free to preach whatever he wants from a pulpit. He is not free to use the seal of the State of Indiana to license religious hatred against Hoosiers he was elected to represent. The Three-Fifths Compromise comments. The “Jezebel spirit” slur. Now this. There is a pattern, and the Senate’s silence is becoming consent. Hoosiers deserve a Lieutenant Governor who represents all of us. Act. Sincerely, A Voting Constituent