Scottsdale says no to Satanic invocation at council meeting

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The city of Scottsdale has canceled plans by the Satanic Temple to deliver an invocation at an upcoming City Council meeting there.

City of Scottsdale statement:
"The city is not going to deviate from its long standing practice of having the invocation given only by representatives from institutions that have a substantial connection to the Scottsdale community. Therefore we are making other arrangements for the invocation to be given on July 6."

Satanic Temple members Michelle Short and Stu De Haan of Tucson had planned to give the invocation this summer in Scottsdale and had received permission, but the city has apparently now changed its mind.

"We were actually approved, when you open the doors of religion within the local government you open up to everybody, you don't decide what is an appropriate religion or not," said Stu De Haan with the Satanic Temple of Arizona.

Short and De Haan previously caused an uproar at Phoenix City Hall earlier this year when they planned to deliver a Satanic invocation. The city then ended prayers at meetings, preventing that from happening. The council later voted to have prayers given at meetings by police and fire chaplains.

"Why did they put us on the calendar to begin with, or have some kind of pretext," he said.