Greg Hamilton thanked the Speaker for his faithful diligence in championing religious freedom for all people of faith in Oregon, including Seventh-day Adventist Christians, by giving him a plaque with the symbol of the torch of religious freedom. He also praised Representative Hunt “for championing such a noble cause in the State of Oregon” and for “your foresight and leadership in making the Oregon bill the potential model for both state and federal Workplace Religious Freedom Acts.”
Hunt, who represents the Gladstone District, District 40, accepted our well-deserved praise and our gift honoring his efforts. He then praised the energetic and professional lobbying efforts of NRLA to get the bill passed, and thanked Seventh-day Adventists for supporting it. The crowd was energized with loud applauses throughout his “thank you” speech, particularly as he stated that we still have a lot to do in shoring up the free exercise of religion in Oregon, and that workplace religious freedom was just the beginning of his efforts in concert with NRLA.
Many in the audience were not aware that Representative Hunt once served as President of the American Baptist Churches USA. At the start of Oregon’s 2009 Legislative Session he established a Biblical theme for all of his colleagues in the House to follow: of sharpening swords into plowshares. Every day—as he did on this night—he wore a metal pin of a plow on the lapel of his suit coat as a reminder to his colleagues. He gave a pin to each member, both Republicans and Democrats.