My own children weren’t among those who feared monsters under the bed, but I had friends who regularly had to assure their toddlers that the room had been cleared of things that go bump in the night.
Those children evidently grew up to populate the Indiana General Assembly.
Senator Kruse has filed Senate Bill 90, aimed at preventing Indiana courts from applying Sharia law. Because that is so likely to happen here. This trend began last year in Oklahoma, and legal blogs report that in addition to Indiana, five states are considering such legislation: Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wyoming. (Not surprisingly, these are not states that top the educational achievement lists….)
Senate Bill 90 “Prohibits the enforcement of a foreign law (defined as a law established and used outside the jurisdiction of the United States) if the enforcement would violate a right granted by the Indiana or U.S. Constitution.” It prohibits people from entering into a contract to apply foreign law to contract disputes, and prohibits courts from transferring cases to other jurisdictions if the transfer is likely to “affect the constitutional rights of the nonmoving party.”
I’m not sure what effect this would have on the application of international trade laws, or the Law of the Sea, and it does appear to interfere with the right of two parties to decide for themselves what law will apply to their contracts. I’m not sure how judges are supposed to know whether courts in other jurisdictions–say New York or California–might rule in ways that the bill’s sponsor believes will “affect” the constitutional rights of the nonmoving party.
Indiana faces significant challenges. Unemployment remains stubbornly high. Our local governments are starving for resources. Our infrastructure needs outstrip our ability to address them. We continue to fight over the best way to improve our substandard schools. So our legislators have gotten really busy–outlawing Sharia law and promoting creationism. (More on that tomorrow.)
Given the language of the bill, it probably passes constitutional muster. So would a bill outlawing monsters under the bed.
Dear God, next you’ll be suggesting that Indiana might be helped by electing legislators with brains.
It seems to me that the people who are most afraid of Sharia law tend to try to incorporate Sharia-like provisions into American law. After all, isn’t it about forcing other people to live according to your religious convictions? An anti marriage-equality amendment would work out nicely under Sharia. Religious zealtory is the same no matter what religion. I think many conservatives would feel much more at home under Sharia than in a secular society.
Well said Jay. Enshrining religious beliefs into law is fine and dandy as long as it comes from the book they subscribe to.
My apologies to the developmentally disabled, but if this is the what is being advanced in the ‘short session,’ it might as well be called the short-bus session as our legislators are obviously idiots.
Jay may have a point…perhaps we should take a closer look at Sharia law and see what it says on same-sex marriage, etc. “Hey, Kruse, did you know that your bill would open the door to gay marriage?” (Then duck lest his head explode.)