A memo to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly states that both parties in the lawsuit over the invocation policy have filed motions for summary judgements and oppositions.
The trial is scheduled in the Anchorage Superior Court for the week of February 26, 2018.
The lawsuit, Hunt vs. Kenai Peninsula Borough, alleges the borough assembly’s invocation policy violates the Alaska Constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska filed the case in December of 2016 “in order to ensure that the constitutional rights of every Kenai Peninsula Borough resident are protected”, according to their website.
Tuesday night’s Borough Assembly meeting began with an invocation by Carrie Henson, President of the Last Frontier Freethinkers.
Henson: “But mainly today I invoke you, our chosen representatives, who know that laws would be based on fairness, not ancient codes; that policy should be based on reason, not privilege; that ethics should be aimed at well-being, to reduce real violence in the real world; not to appease a deity or flatter a lord.”
There was no discussion on the topic from the Assembly Members during Tuesday’s meeting but former Assemblyman Stan Welles voiced his opinion on the matter.
Welles: “Our invocation is the action of petitioning our Lord God for assistance.”
Trial call for the Hunt vs. Kenai Peninsula Borough case is scheduled for February 12, 2018.
This case is not to be confused with the lawsuit filed by Assemblyman Willy Dunne(South Peninsula) against the borough. The borough reached a settlement with Dunne in July of 2017, where they agreed to pay Dunne $10,000 to partially cover his legal expenses.
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