When Bibles started disappearing from the House-members-only lounge at the Arizona State Capitol, security officers hid a camera in the room in an attempt to identify the responsible party.
It turned out to be Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, a Democratic state lawmaker who is also an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA — generally considered one of the more liberal denominations in the U.S. (as opposed to the similarly named but much more conservative Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA).
Journalist David Caltabiano of KPHO in Phoenix asked Hamilton about the Bibles, but she wasn’t talking.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said when Caltabiano approached her in the Capitol building.
“It’s just a simple question: Why would you hide the Bibles?” he asked.
“Who said anything about hiding Bibles?” she asked.
“You were caught on video,” he responded, at which point the lawmaker retreated back into a section of the building where journalists are not permitted.
She later texted the reporter, admitting to the thefts but claiming that her actions were “Just a little playful commentary on the separation of church and state.”
“I am a Presbyterian minister so I obviously don’t have a problem with the Bible,” she claimed.
CAUGHT ON VIDEO: AZ Dem lawmaker/ordained minister busted swiping Bibles from House’s members-only lounge. She calls it a ‘ little playful commentary’ for separation of church and state, Republican leadership are not laughing. #azfamily pic.twitter.com/pSPth8jeR7
— David Caltabiano (@DavidCaltabiano) April 25, 2023
Before Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton called it ‘playful’, we called her — she hung up on me, then we met her with a camera, this is the explanation we got: pic.twitter.com/DuEZEaoGV1
— David Caltabiano (@DavidCaltabiano) April 25, 2023
Stahl Hamilton placed the Bibles in bizarre places, buried deep in furniture and in the community refrigerator. pic.twitter.com/gbd9NAmdjc
— David Caltabiano (@DavidCaltabiano) April 25, 2023
“When I’m watching that, I’m thinking, ‘Well, this is obviously someone who’s got some purpose and some intent, and they know they’re doing something bad,” Republican Pro-Tempore Speaker Travis Grantham told Caltabiano.
“For an ordained minister to do that, again, it’s nonsensical. I have no clarity as to why it happened,” Grantham said.
The outlet reported that Stahl Hamilton had made no previous complaints about the presence of the Bibles in the lounge.
Twitter users had some additional questions for the lawmaker.
If her stated goal was to make a statement why is she running away in shame????….because she knows what she did was WRONG
— Kim Kelley (@KimKell05350032) April 26, 2023
It was just “playful” but she wouldn’t even talk about it. If it’s not a big deal, just answer a couple questions
— EB (@ebbetsblues) April 26, 2023
There is, of course, no reason to believe that Stahl Hamilton would be more forthcoming regarding these questions from the public than she was with Caltabiano.
“After completing her Masters of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary, Stephanie and [her husband] Derek made Tucson their home,” the legislator’s campaign website says. “She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and is currently serving as Parish Associate at St. Mark’s.”
The “Staff & Leaders” page of St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Tucson does not list Stahl Hamilton as a staff member there.
“St. Marks Presbyterian is a companionate church that engages our faith in God with open hearts and open minds,” the church’s website says.
“We are a faith community that is willing to take risks for progress on social justice. Through progressive and challenging preaching and worship we engages the concerns of the community and the world. Our gatherings are a safe and stimulating church environment that welcomes all.”
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