Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly censured the black mass in a statement March 12 and said participants weren’t allowed to demonstrate inside the capitol building.
Catholic organizations circulated petitions and urged legislators to step in.
Rumors swirled among Statehouse circles that the Satanic Grotto’s president had stolen materials used in the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist — an accusation bolstered by an archbishop’s lawsuit against the group’s leader.
But the satanist group hasn’t budged.
Legislative leaders went a step further Tuesday and modified the Capitol’s building and grounds policies to change assembly rights for anyone who wants to demonstrate at the Statehouse — not just the Satanic Grotto.
The policy changes add three contingencies to the public’s use of common areas in the Statehouse and capitol grounds:
- Organizations and individuals will not be permitted to “meet or gather when participation is limited or restricted on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, cultural heritage or national origin or ancestry.”
- People cannot gather if an individual has made a threat verified by state law enforcement “against the governor, a member of the Legislature or other public official.”
- People cannot gather if a group or member of a group “has stated explicitly that the meeting or gathering will involve a violation of law.”
The Legislative Coordinating Council, which consists of Republican and Democratic leadership, passed the changes unanimously at a meeting Tuesday following a letter from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. The legislative leaders called on the governor to use the Kansas Highway Patrol to prevent the black mass from occurring as scheduled on March 28.
“The Governor’s Office is reviewing actions from the Legislative Coordinating Council,” said Grace Hoge, a spokesperson for the governor.
