civus
ResolutionADOPTEDCeremonial

Resolution 190238

Condemning Pennsylvania State Representative Stephanie Borowicz’s religious invocation on the day of the swearing-in of the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the General Assembly as Islamophobic and inappropriate.

Introduced Mar 28, 2019CITY COUNCILOfficial record: City of Philadelphia via Legistar

Introduced by

Councilmember JonesCouncilmember GreenCouncilmember ParkerCouncilmember GymCouncilmember Greenlee

How members voted

  1. Vote on May 2, 2019 · CITY COUNCIL

    Aye (14)

    Council President ClarkeCouncilmember SquillaCouncilmember JohnsonCouncilmember BlackwellCouncilmember JonesCouncilmember HenonCouncilmember Quiñones SánchezCouncilmember BassCouncilmember ParkerCouncilmember DombCouncilmember GreenCouncilmember GreenleeCouncilmember GymCouncilmember Reynolds Brown

    Nay (3)

    Councilmember O'NeillCouncilmember OhCouncilmember Taubenberger

From the floor

Passages in the official transcripts that cite this file number. Every quote links to its exact place in the record.

  1. “Council President, when the vote was held on Resolution 190238, I was out of the Chambers and I'd like to be recorded as no.”

    Councilman Taubenberger · Stated Meeting, May 2, 2019 · May 2, 2019 · official transcript, this passage

  2. “Arnold Jones. Okay. So based on this particular bill, if individuals given the opportunity to represent the interests of their constituents, neighbors, and fellow man and woman decide to inject malicious intent towards others because of their religious beliefs, it must be dealt with swiftly. Stephanie Borowicz's remarks were divisive and undermine the very idea that this country allows for religious and political fre…”

    Mr. Jones · Stated Meeting, April 25, 2019 · Apr 25, 2019 · official transcript, this passage

Status timeline

  1. Mar 28, 2019Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar · CITY COUNCIL
  2. May 2, 2019ADOPTED · CITY COUNCIL

Official documents

Documents open on the City of Philadelphia’s legislative site.

Full text

Read the full text as published

..Title Condemning Pennsylvania State Representative Stephanie Borowicz's religious invocation on the day of the swearing-in of the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the General Assembly as Islamophobic and inappropriate. ..Body WHEREAS, On March 25, 2019, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives celebrated a historic milestone during their legislative session, with the swearing-in of Movita Johnson-Harrell, the first Muslim woman ever elected to serve on the General Assembly. Representative Johnson-Harrell won a special election on March 12, 2019 for Pennsylvania's 190th District seat; and WHEREAS, Fifty-five guests attended the session with Representative Johnson-Harrell, for what was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Thirty-two of those guests were Muslim; and WHEREAS, Stephanie Borowicz, a Republican freshman representing Clinton County, was selected to offer a prayer during the legislative session on March 25, 2019. However, instead of acting with decency, Representative Borowicz's invocation was needlessly laden with political and Christian imagery; and WHEREAS, Representative Borowicz said "Jesus" 13 times, "God" six times, and "Lord" four times, as well as expressing thanks to God that President Donald Trump "stands besides Israel" in her nearly two-minute prayer; and WHEREAS, By saying that Jesus is "our only hope" and by willing "every knee" to bow to a Christian god, Representative Borowicz delivered a message that excluded not only Muslims, but all other non-Christian members of the audience; and WHEREAS, Representative Borowicz refused to offer an apology for the prayer, which marred the historic event, and offended many; and WHEREAS, Several members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives immediately criticized Representative Borowicz's prayer for its mean spiritedness and offensive nature. House Speaker Mike Turzai called for Pennsylvania lawmakers to deliver interfaith prayers that are respectful of all religious beliefs; and WHEREAS, The goal of prayer is to unite; not to divide. The exclusionary nature and decisiveness of Representative Borowicz's invocation reflects an unacceptable attitude toward religious tolerance that should not be overlooked; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby condemns Pennsylvania State Representative Stephanie Borowicz's religious invocation on the day of the swearing-in of the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the General Assembly as Islamophobic and inappropriate. ..End