PLANO, Texas -- The Plano mayor has called for the immediate resignation of a councilman after a social media post was shared on the topic of banning Islam in schools.
On Tuesday, Tom Harrison, Place 7, shared a post from the Facebook page Joined Hands Across America For Trump that shows a student wearing a hijab with the caption, "Share if you think Trump should ban Islam in American schools."
The post had three shares from his personal page as of Wednesday morning. The only comment underneath read, "This is disgusting behavior from an elected official." The commenter then tagged Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere.
In a press conference at 2 p.m., LaRosiliere said he wanted Harrison to resign.
Harrison posted a response on his Facebook page at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
I want to sincerely apologize to the Plano Muslim Community for the unintentional hurt I caused by reposting something on my personal Facebook page that wrongfully implied I am anti-Muslim. My intent on inputting this on my personal Facebook page was to emphasize that Christianity is not the only religion being targeted for exclusion in our public school. It was not meant as a personal attack against the Islamic faith. As a Christian, it is my belief that all should be free to worship as they choose, but we live in a time where any practice of religious expression in public schools is rarely tolerated. My hope is that due to the rightful negative response to my post, that it will spark a renewed discussion about all religions and their place in our public schools. My other regret is that my personal action has reflected poorly on the City of Plano. My action was personal in nature, but I should have remembered this past Monday night’s Council discussion …. none of us are ever truly off duty. None of us are perfect, and we will all be judged one day by the highest authority. Until then, I ask for forgiveness within the community and acceptance of my sincere apology.Tom Harrison, February 14, 2018