In November 2017, Democrat Daniel “Danica” Roem defeated incumbent Republican Bob Marshall for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, but there’s a kicker….

Roem’s wasn’t shy about his mental illness, publicizing his fetishes and kinks and embracing a new “identity” (but really just dressing in drag), and it was a core aspect of his campaign—Roem had become the first “transgender” state representative in U.S. history, and his election was celebrated as an LGBTQ++ “victory.”

Then last fall, Roem won a new race, this time in the state senate, and he revealed in a recent interview his intention to be sworn in with his hand on a heavy metal album rather than the Bible, as is a long-standing tradition.

In the aforementioned interview, recently published by LGBTQ Nation, Roem stated that he would be swearing in on a 1988 vinyl copy of his favorite Metallica album, And Justice For All. Daniel Danica seems to have taken his her oath to get sworn in on the Metallica album far more seriously than he she took the Oath of Office itself.

Roem has since been sworn in, though no details about the ceremony have been forthcoming. While it is not mandatory under Virginia law to be sworn in on a Bible, it has been customary to do so for most of the state’s existence.

Roem’s stunt is illustrative of the lack of faith and reverence that has taken hold amongst younger, increasingly non-traditional Americans. Transgenderism is itself simultaneously hyper-fashionable and a rejection of God’s will. And there also seems to be a trend building of elected officials being sworn into office on things other than a Bible.

There is a reason why Bibles have historically been used to swear people into office. It is because it has been thought that most folks would be more likely to keep a promise, or oath, if that promise is effectively made to God, rather than to a human or group thereof. You know, the Ten Commandments, Heaven and Hell, etc. Hence the phrase, meant to get at the truth, “Do you swear on a stack of Bibles?”

But, what the Hell, the times they are a-changin’. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were sworn in on Qurans. I’m sure that soon we will see officials sworn in on National Geographics, Playboy magazines, the Epstein files, a box of Tide detergent, or a stack of Archie comic books, amongst other materials. Swear your fealty to God, the American people, your office, the Constitution, or Betty and/or Veronica. It doesn’t really matter much anymore, does it?

Image from X.