Discrimination at the Tulsa Zoo
The Tulsa Park and
Recreation Board held an emergency meeting on July 7th and voted 3-1
to reverse its previous decision to accept the Genesis Display. The rush
meeting was apparently set up to avoid any attention as was apparent by the meetings
format. The board chairman, Walter Helmerich restricted the public from any
discussion on the issue - only the board was allowed to speak. Mayor Bill LaFortune
was the only member of the board standing on his previous decision to include
the Genesis Display.
False information
was put forward at the meeting stating that Dan had agreed to stop voicing
concerns in 1995 if a disclaimer were put up at the zoo stating evolution was
only a scientific theory. No such agreement was made and the sign put up by
the Tulsa Zoo has since been removed.
It still stands
that the belief system of only 3% of Oklahomans (naturalistic evolution stated
as fact in the Time Gallery) will continue to dominate the message of the Tulsa
Zoo while the beliefs of 60% of Oklahomans (creationism) will be discriminated
against. Yet, religious material remains on display throughout the Tulsa Zoo. Dan Hicks response
to the Tulsa Park and Recreation Board's Reversal is shown below:
“The
Tulsa Park and Recreation Board has chosen to deviate from its past practice
of allowing religious displays to be erected without censorship at the Tulsa
Zoo by voting today to censor the Genesis account of creation, and in doing so
has stepped on the constitutional liberties of Tulsa taxpayers. When the
globe promoting the pantheistic message, "The earth is our mother, the sky
is our father," was erected, it was not censored. When the Hindu god,
Ganesha, was erected, it was not censored. When the Maasai spiritual
stories and proverb were erected, they were not censored. When
naturalistic philosophy in the form of evolution was erected, it was not
censored. ONLY THE GENESIS DISPLAY HAS BEEN SINGLED OUT FOR
CENSORSHIP."
Let Mayor Bill LaFortune know
how you feel about the board's July 7th decision to censor the Genesis display
from the Tulsa Zoo. He can be reached at 918-596-2100 or
BLaFortune@CityofTulsa.org
Background information: On
June 7th, the Tulsa Park and Recreation Board voted 3-1 to accept the creation
display being proposed by Dan Hicks - click here to read a full description of
the meeting.
Religion at the Tulsa Zoo -
click here to see pictures
The Tulsa Zoo display is
illustrated below, or click here to view a higher resolution copy (442KB)
There must be something
very special about the Genesis account of creation for opponents to fight so
hard to suppress these words.
