Saturday, May 20, 2000
Senate hopeful wants divorce of religion, politics
Lawyer runs in Democratic primary
By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION — In Tuesday's 11th state Senate District Democratic primary, lawyer Ed Kagin of Union doesn't have a prayer.
That's not necessarily a forecast on Mr. Kagin's chances of winning the primary over John Stephenson of Fort Mitchell, a former teacher and real-estate broker who has long been involved in Northern Kentucky politics.
But the statement does reflect Mr. Kagin's motivation for run ning, his belief that religion has crept much too far into the policy and politics of the Kentucky statehouse.
“The main issue in my race is whether or not Kentucky and its laws will be written by means of critical inquiry and reasonable thinking, or magic, superstition and a reliance on magical things,” said Mr. Kagin, 59.
The son of a Presbyterian minister, Mr. Kagin does not call himself an atheist. Rather, he says he is a secular humanist.
“That means I am without reli gion and I believe that human beings can and should solve the problems of the world without magical thinking or belief in magic, or indeed the supernatural,” he said.
Mr. Kagin also favors abortion and calls members of Northern Kentucky Right to Life, a politically potent anti-abortion group, “right to run your lifers.”
His beliefs and sometimes inflammatory anti-religious rhetoric are not always popular in Northern Kentucky.
“Everybody has the right to run,” said Mr. Stephenson, who often talks about his own religious beliefs when talking politics.
“But he's as opposite of me as you can get,” he said. “And he's out of sync with the people of Northern Kentucky.”
Mr. Kagin knows that. He even admits that his candidacy is his way of making a statement about how religion has become a major part of state politics in Kentucky.
What convinced him to enter the race were two bills passed earlier this year by the Kentucky General Assembly.
One allows churches to skirt state civil-rights laws by refusing to rent facilities such as church camp to groups with different religious beliefs. The other allows schools to post the Ten Commandments.
“These people are trying to repeal the 21st century,” he said. Mr. Kagin points out he is “not a crackpot,” that in 1998 when he ran unsuccessfully for the Kentucky Supreme Court, he was endorsed by The Lexington Herald-Leader, one of the state's largest newspapers.
He also holds a concealed-carry permit, which allows the bearer to carry a gun, and does not believe in stringent gun control, an issue that resonates with many Northern Kentucky conservatives.
The 11th Senate District covers all of Boone County and the Kenton County suburbs of Crescent Springs, Crestview Hills, Edgewood, Fort Mitchell, Fort Wright and Villa Hills.
The 10-year incumbent, Senate President Pro Tem Dick Roeding, R-Lakeside Park, is unopposed in the GOP primary.
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