Minnesotans' Responses
Besides the aformentioned Senator Norm Coleman, other residents from from Ellison's home state of Minnesota have commented on the controversy.
Tammy Lee, the Independence Party opponent of Ellison in the 2006 election, said, "This country was founded on principles of freedom of religion. Our Constitution guarantees it, and as a newly elected member of Congress who's going to uphold the Constitution, he has every right to choose what religious traditions he wants to practice."
Ron Eibensteiner, former state Republican Party chairman said "It doesn't matter if he wants to be sworn in on the Qur'an; that's perfectly fine. We have in this country freedom of religion and free speech."
Dan Barreiro radio talk show host for KFAN 1130-AM of Minneapolis-St. Paul said he was "a bit bewildered" by the concern over Ellison’s use of the Quran. On his "Bumper-to-Bumper" radio show "The general consensus I got was that most people were not terrified at the prospect that this was something that he might do. Certainly there is no law that mandates that a person put their hand on a Bible as any kind of litmus test of their loyalty to the country."
Read more about this topic: Qur'an Oath Controversy Of The 110th United States Congress
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