Texas lawmaker demands Muslim visitors take loyalty oath

A Texas state lawmaker drew criticism Thursday for demanding that Muslims visiting her office during a day of outreach in Austin take a loyalty oath and denounce Islamic terrorism.

As local students and others went to the statehouse for Muslim State Capitol day, state Rep. Molly White, a Republican from Belton, offered her warning to would-be visitors on Facebook. While she did not plan to be in her office on Thursday, “I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws,” she wrote.


“We will see how long they stay in my office,” she added.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations, whose Texas chapter organized the day as a way to introduce young people to state government, wrote Thursday to House Speaker Joe Straus to protest the move and ask for an ethics investigation.

“Has Rep. White violated any House rules in creating such an internal office policy that is selectively being enforced to discriminate against certain religious minorities trying to meet with her or her staff?” CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw asked in the letter. “Are House members prohibited from making constituents take oaths before meeting with their elected representatives or house staff? Or, are you aware of any other ethical breaches that may have occurred because of these statements?”

Straus, a Republican from San Antonio, pushed back on White’s comments.

“The Texas Capitol belongs to all the people of this state, and legislators have a responsibility to treat all visitors just as we expect to be treated — with dignity and respect,” he said in a statement. “Anything else reflects poorly on the entire body and distracts from the very important work in front of us.”

After the initial backlash to her Facebook post, White said she planned to ban insulting responses that came from people who do not live in her district. “I do not apologize for my comments above. If you love America, obey our laws and condemn Islamic terrorism then I embrace you as a fellow American. If not, then I do not,” she wrote.

Visitors to the capitol on Thursday also faced protests from a small crowd holding signs that read “Radical Islam is the New Nazi” and “Go Home & Take Obama With You,” the Texas Tribune reported.