Faith Off, Former State Rep. Stickland Attacks Rep. Talarico Over Invocation at the Texas Legislature

Former Texas state Rep. Jonathan Stickland may no longer be a member of the House, but his ignorant remarks seem to remain part of his daily activities. The 37-year-old former Freedom Caucus member took to his Twitter account to complain about a prayer Rep. Talarico used at the Texas Legislature last Saturday.

Rep. Talarico didn’t keep quiet and used the moment as a teaching opportunity. He answered the tweet with a thread about what religion actually means, “The true blasphemy is using the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to exclude others. Christianity is a way of living in radical fellowship; it’s not a members-only club. Christ taught love not rules.” the young State Representative wrote.

Broadway artist and Texas native Betty Buckley also tweeted back and called Stickland an embarrassment, “Strickland, you are the blasphemy & you are an embarrassment to Texas!! Bless your teeny little heart. Love is so much bigger, so much greater than your hateful notions.”

Stickland, who claims he is a conservative Christian, has a long history of controversial remarks including calling vaccines “sorcery”, a statement he made back when he was still a member of the Legislature. He also accused prominent Texas pediatrician-scientist Dr. Peter Hotez of promoting vaccines for his own financial gain. 

“Wow that’s impressive, from a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Sir, as you know, I don’t take a dime from the vaccine industry. I develop neglected disease vaccines for the world’s poorest people. And as a Texas pediatrician-scientist it is most certainly my business,” tweeted Dr. Hotez after the false accusations.

Stickland has also said that rape is non-existent if you’re married and that men could take what they wanted from their wives.