Michigan redistricting commission votes down measure to recite Pledge of Allegiance msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The pledge as well as the national anthem have stirred controversies over patriotism, freedom of speech and reckoning with injustice in the U.S. American athletes protesting police brutality and racism by kneeling during the national anthem at sporting events drew national attention during Donald Trump s presidency.
Pointing to such controversies, commissioners raised concerns that reciting the pledge would divide the commission and create a heated atmosphere at public hearings where the group of randomly selected citizens in charge of drawing new congressional and legislative districts will solicit input from communities across the state.
Rebecca Szetela, a 47-year-old independent commissioner from Canton, said her biggest concern was that reciting the pledge would prove unnecessarily divisive. She worried about public meetings in which people might sit during the pledge, creating a hostile atmosphere among members of the public in attendance.