After Deliberating For THREE MINUTES, Florida Senate Panel Approves Anti-Sharia Bill

[babylonsister]

Disgusting and sad...

After Deliberating For Three Minutes, Florida Senate Panel Approves Anti-Sharia Bill

By Scott Keyes on Feb 29, 2012 at 1:29 pm


A Florida Senate panel approved a measure to ban the use of Sharia law in the Sunshine State yesterday after deliberating for just three minutes and turning dozens away who sought to give their testimony.

SB 1360, which already passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, was approved by the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday by a 5-2 vote. A concurrent anti-Sharia bill in the House was also sent out of committee last week and will be voted receive a floor vote in the next few days.

The proposed legislation, which would ban the use of “foreign law,” is drawing ire not only because it’s been used as a way to attack Muslims in this country, but also because it could have a number of unintended consequences. As the Orlando Sun-Sentinel notes, many Jewish groups are calling the legislation discriminatory against them as well:

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/02/29/434658/florida-anti-sharia-bill/

[chrisa]

1. Yeah, because Sharia Law is such a threat to the US

All one person who supports Sharia Law in the US might be a threat, or something.

[Angry Dragon]

2. Damn ......... time to get rid of the Magna Carte then

and the Ten Commandments .... both sets

[csziggy]

3. "Foreign law" = English Common Law, the Magna Carta, the Ten Commandments

The Napoleonic Code, etc. All of which are the basis from which our law and Constitution were derived.

This is at least as stupid as when the Florida Legislature banned the use of the word "vagina" from their chambers.

[izquierdista]

4. Not as stupid as if they had banned "dicks"

Then they would have locked themselves out.

[demosincebirth]

9. I wonder what they call it (vagina) in private?

[csziggy]

11. Words they wouldn't say in front of their mother.

[Bozita]

16. More proof that today's GOP despises education. They may carry US Constitutions in their pockets, ..

... but they are totally fucking clueless as to how it got here.

Maybe gawd passed it down to one of Pat Robertson's ancestors?

[csziggy]

19. As long as they don't claim it was inscribed on golden tablets given to Pat by angels

If only Joseph Smith had been born sooner, the Mormons could claim he was given the Constitution!

[no_hypocrisy]

5. The law is unconstitutional.

Impairing the free expression of religion.

Not only would Sharia Law be banned, so would the religious law of other religions. As per the article, rabbis could no longer grant or deny gets and the Catholic Church could no longer grant annulments. And if the proposed law were drafted to only outlaw Sharia Law, then there would be a problem with the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution with treating one religion differently from other religions.

[saras]

6. The Bible is "foreign law". Kill the fucker.

[lunatica]

7. Thank God! That was such a close call

[ScottLand]

8. Just to be safe, no wording in any legal document that starts to spell out the word "shar...."

[silverweb]

10. How and why should any states recognize sharia law?

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]It's religious law that is interpreted in various ways.

Ironically, I was just reading a very good article on this subject. A small percentage of the Islamic population in Australia is calling for recognition of sharia there, as well. The author of the article makes some very good points regarding why this "dual legal system" simply could not work in Australia, and I think his reasoning easily applies to us, as well.

[link:theconversation.edu.au/sharia-why-a-dual-legal-system-will-not-work-in-australia-5281?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+March+1+2012&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+March+1+2012+CID_8485423a9188c81f27f7f6fa5bee74b2&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Sharia+why+a+dual+legal+system+will+not+work+in+Australia|
Sharia: why a dual legal system will not work in Australia America

Do we already formally recognize any other religious law in our courts? How could a legal system even attempt to apply to everyone equally if there is recognition of a different set of laws applying to one religious group? And if one, then why not another?

On edit: The link still does not appear to be working properly in hyperlink format. You can find it in the left-hand column here: http://theconversation.edu.au/pages/society

[jmowreader]

12. I am really glad to see this...

Obviously the great Governor Rick Scott and the great Florida Republican Party has fixed all of Florida's problems, so now they can turn their attention to stupidity like anti-Sharia laws. (I refuse to use the sarcasm tag; hopefully my intent was clear.)

What y'all are not realizing is this law ALSO prevents the enforcement of United Nations treaties and other international treaties within the State of Florida, including things like international maritime law--which, considering that Florida has the second-longest coastline of any state, is important there.

[Hugabear]

13. Geneva Convention no longer applies to Florida National Guard troops

So next time they're sent overseas, feel free to kill and torture away.

[bhikkhu]

15. Federal law trumps state law

...basic civics.

[jmowreader]

17. Teabagger civics: state law trumps federal law

There's a teabagger in Kellogg (little BFE town on the eastern side of the Idaho Panhandle, which had a lead smelter in it for 100 years) who's running for the Idaho legislature on a platform of throwing the EPA out of Idaho because they're planning to spend 97 years remediating the lead pollution in North Idaho's soil.

[bhikkhu]

14. In the spirit of separation of church and state -

I'd say fine, whatever. Nutjobs have far worse ideas, I don't see the harm if they keep themselves busy with this.

[pampango]

18. It's an ALEC-drafted bill. Republicans act on those very quickly.

Why waste time worrying about the wording, consequences, etc. when you receive a pre-drafted bill from a right wing group like ALEC?

If you're goal is to wage a fear and distraction-based political campaign (rather than do anything about inequality and other serious problems), you invent scary problems that you deal with quickly and effectively to keep "them" from imposing their will on "us". ("Them", of course, is never our 1% in republican eyes, but "scary" foreigners particularly those with a "scary" religion.)